High-throughput toxicology: practical considerations

The current pace of drug development has necessitated that the pharmaceutical industry consider alternative approaches for rapid toxicity screening of novel compounds. Genomics technology surfaced the concept of comprehensive toxicity evaluation from a single sample. Metabonomics is a new technology employing (1)H-NMR to rapidly evaluate peripheral samples for indices of toxicity enabling higher-throughput evaluation of in vivo toxicity. Although both approaches show significant promise, much remains to be done before either can become a routine part of a toxicologist's portfolio. Distinguishing efficacy and adaptive responses from toxicity is a problem common to both technologies. In addition, the novelty of the approaches has precluded standardization to this point. Clearly the traditional role of a toxicologist is changing, new demands for speed call for new ideas. However, novelty does not supplant quality, and the answers we provide to these very basic questions will determine how effectively these new technologies will become an accepted part of the drug discovery process.