Search results for "Animal Use Alternatives"

Human Hepatic Cell Cultures: In Vitro and In Vivo Drug Metabolism

2003

Drug metabolism is the major determinant of drug clearance, and the factor most frequently responsible for inter-individual differences in drug pharmacokinetics. The expression of drug metabolising enzymes shows significant interspecies differences, and variability among human individuals (polymorphic or inducible enzymes) makes the accurate prediction of the metabolism of a new compound in humans difficult. Several key issues need to be addressed at the early stages of drug development to improve drug candidate selection: a) how fast the compound will be metabolised; b) what metabolites will be formed (metabolic profile); c) which enzymes are involved and to what extent; and d) whether dr…