[Technology and evaluation best practices for in vivo cardiovascular safety pharmacology studies]

In vivo cardiovascular experiments as part of safety pharmacology studies have been developed for small molecule drug candidates to maximize detection power for potential undesirable pharmacodynamic effects of a drug candidate on physiological functions, and have been established with appropriate expertise. Conscious freely-moving telemeterized non-rodents are generally used for the in vivo cardiovascular experiments. The technology and evaluation best practices for the experiments have been optimized by multiple researchers and as a result, the experiments considerably contribute to the estimation of cardiovascular risks for humans. In addition, as described in ICH E14&S7B Q&A draft, non-clinical studies are gaining importance in the integrated risk assessment for QT prolongation in humans, and high quality data obtained in non-clinical studies are being required. This manuscript introduces actual technology and evaluation for in vivo cardiovascular safety pharmacology studies based on Japan activity for Improvement of Cardiovascular Evaluation by Telemetry system (J-ICET), which is one of the working groups hosted by Japanese Safety Pharmacology Society.