The impact of genomics-based technologies on drug safety evaluation

Determining the potential toxicity of compounds early in the drug discovery process can be extremely beneficial in terms of both time and money conservation. Because of the speed of modern chemical synthesis and screening, to accurately evaluate the large number of compounds being produced, toxicology assays must have both high-fidelity and high-throughput capabilities. In addition, assays must be performed using limited amounts of compound. In the past decade, several new and innovative techniques have been developed that not only allow for high-throughput screening but can also provide detailed information concerning the molecular mechanisms behind toxic effects. Techniques such as hybridization microarrays, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and large-scale sequencing are some of the methods that have been or are starting to be used routinely in pharmaceutical companies. This review examines the contributions of these and related techniques toward toxicity evaluation of potential drug candidates and their future role in the discovery of new therapeutics.