This issue of GEN appears in the dog days of summer, a time associated with oppressive heat and a dull lack of progress. But our coverage is as lively as ever because there is so much progress to report. Let’s start with our cover story: preclinical models. This space is evolving to address increasing concern over the 3Rs of animal models (replacement, reduction, and refinement), and the emergence of in vitro alternatives such as organ-chips. Another story looks at the industrialization of synthetic biology. To date, synthetic biology has struggled with cost and capacity issues, but it is getting a boost from biofoundries, strain engineering, and precision fermentation. In other stories, we report on AI in drug discovery (AI is streamlining antibody design and balancing antibody attributes) and cancer vaccines (the field may leave its dog days behind by adopting new targeting strategies). Finally, we rank the country’s leading biopharma clusters.