Run a Successful Drug Discovery Program with In Vitro Toxicity Testing Methods
Adverse effects due to drug toxicity are some of the main reasons for drug failure in the clinic. The goal of running an in vitro toxicity testing program is to reduce late stage drug failure through the early identification of compounds likely to cause adverse effects in humans or animals.
If compounds likely to cause toxicity in vivo are identified early through in vitro methods drug developers save months, potentially years, of time spent developing a compound that will inevitably fail in the clinic.
With this time savings also comes the cost savings of over investing in expensive in vivo or animal studies. Discovering a compound is toxic in cells is much more affordable and time efficient than discovering a compound is toxic in animals, not to mention more ethically acceptable. The typical turnaround time for an initial in vitro toxicity screen (Cell viability) is around a week. A similar study in vivo could take months, in some cases, take years because the animals need to be developed for the study. Thereby, for ethical reasons and the highly expensive nature of the In Vivo tests the pharmaceutical