Non-clinical models: validation, study design and statistical consideration in safety pharmacology

The current issue of the Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods (JPTM) focuses exclusively on safety pharmacology methods. This is the 7th year the Journal has published on this topic. Methods and models that specifically relate to methods relating to the assessment of the safety profile of a new chemical entity (NCE) prior to first in human (FIH) studies are described. Since the Journal started publishing on this topic there has been a major effort by safety pharmacologists, toxicologists and regulatory scientists within Industry (both large and small Pharma as well as Biotechnology companies) and also from Contract Research Organizations (CRO) to publish the surgical details of the non-clinical methods utilized but also provide important details related to standard and non-standard (or integrated) study models and designs. These details from core battery and secondary (or ancillary) drug safety assessment methods used in drug development programs have been the focus of these special issues and have been an attempt to provide validation of methods. Similarly, the safety pharmacology issues of the Journal provide the most relevant forum for scientists to present novel and modified methods with direct applicability to determination of drug safety-directly to the safety pharmacology scientific community. The content of the manuscripts in this issue includes the introduction of additional important surgical methods, novel data capture and data analysis methods, improved study design and effects of positive control compounds with known activity in the model.