Opinion on the Use of Animal Models in Nonclinical Safety Assessment: Pros and Cons

Nonclinical evaluation of human safety risks for new chemical entities (NCEs) is primarily conducted in conventional healthy animals (CHAs); however, in certain instances, animal models of diseases (AMDs) can play a critical role in the understanding of human health risks. Animal models of diseases may be especially important when there is a need to understand how disease conditions associated with the intended indication might impact risk assessment of NCEs or when CHAs lack the human-specific target of interest (receptor, etc). Although AMDs have potential benefits over CHAs, they also have limitations. Understanding these limitations and optimizing the AMDs of interest should be done prior to proceeding with studies that will guide development of NCE. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide an overview of the major pros and cons of utilization of AMDs in nonclinical safety assessment.