ABSTRACT
To explore the predictivity of dose range-finding (DRF) studies, we conducted asurvey by sending out questionnaires to 72 Japanese pharmaceutical companies.The survey yielded data for 108 and 85 compounds for which any embryo-fetaldevelopment (EFD) toxicities were observed in the definitive studies in rodentsand non-rodents, respectively. As a result of the analysis, 83% of studies inrodents and 80% in non-rodents showed EFD effects in the DRF studies. Whenfocusing on teratogenicity, 91% of studies in rodents and 100% in non-rodentswere judged "positive" in the DRF studies when all EFD toxicities were used asmarkers. When the effects of both the rodent and non-rodent studies wereevaluated together, the combination predictive value in the DRF studies was 96%for EFD toxicants and 100% for teratogens. To evaluate the influence of theexamination items, the predictive value was analyzed using 54 compounds forwhich full examinations (external, visceral and skeletal examination) wereconducted in both rodent and non-rodent DRF studies. When the results werejudged by including or excluding skeletal and visceral examinations results,the predictive values were not significantly different. In conclusion, theresults of this survey showed that a pair of the DRF studies in the rodents andnon-rodents is useful to increase the predictivity of DRF studies. In additionthe inclusion of observations such as fetal survival, body weight and externalexamination into the DRF studies are important to predict effects in thedefinitive studies.
Subject(s)
Embryonic Development/drug effects , Fetal Development/drug effects , Teratogens/toxicity , Toxicity Tests , Xenobiotics/toxicity , Abnormalities, Drug-Induced , Animals , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions , Fetal Death/chemically induced , Fetal Weight/drug effects , Mice , Pilot Projects , Predictive Value of Tests , Rabbits , Rats , Retrospective Studies , Surveys and Questionnaires , Teratogens/classification , Xenobiotics/classificationABSTRACT
Since malignant tumors are life-threatening, the death rate from these diseases is high, and existing therapies have limited effectiveness, it is desired to provide new effective anticancer drugs to tumor patients sooner. However, there is no guideline regarding non-clinical safety studies on the development of anticancer drugs required for the first in human clinical trials and for the approval applications in Japan. Then, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) established the collaboration group including regulatory, academic and industrial scientists to prepare the guideline on the non-clinical safety evaluation of anticancer drugs in 2004. As a guide for basic concept of non-clinical safety studies on anticancer drugs, the "Points to Consider" document was prepared by this group in 2007.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Antineoplastic Agents/toxicity , Neoplasms/drug therapy , Animals , Drug Evaluation, Preclinical , Humans , Toxicity TestsABSTRACT
Regulatory and industrial scientists collaborated to publish a "points to consider" document regarding the safety assessment of biotechnology-derived pharmaceuticals in non-clinical studies in 2002 (Pharmaceutical Non-clinical Investigation Group, 2002). The collaboration team intended to clarify the interpretation of ICH-S6 guideline and furthermore share recent Japanese practices on this matter. However, the document was written in Japanese. Thus, we share here an English translation of the document so that non-native Japanese correctly understand the contents.
