Application of emerging technologies in toxicology and safety assessment: regulatory perspectives

Abstract

Emerging technologies applied in the regulatory field encompass a group of technologies that are used in addition to or in replacement of the standard toxicology studies conducted to support an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) or New Drug Application (NDA). The standard package includes general toxicology studies of various duration, safety pharmacology studies, genetic toxicology studies, and reproductive toxicology studies. New and emerging technologies applied to the regulation of new drugs include the use of novel biomarkers, transfected cells and transgenic animals, and the "omics" technologies (toxicogenomics, proteomics, and metabonomics). These technologies are at various stages of regulatory development and acceptance. For example, the use of transgenic animals have gained acceptance by regulatory authorities to replace a 2-year carcinogenicity assay. Alternatively, the "omics" technologies are not sufficiently advanced to achieve regulatory acceptance as replacements, although these assays have a role early in drug development and they may prove useful as supplements to standard studies. Data from these assays have been used to address specific mechanistic questions in combination with standard toxicology assays.