DMPK Mouse Models and Drug Development

Drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) play important roles in the success of drug discovery and development efforts. DMPK properties of drugs or drug candidates can impact not only efficacy but also safety. While contract research organizations, non-profit core facilities, and collaborating research labs provide medicinal chemists with routine DMPK services that facilitate or enable preclinical drug discovery efforts, DMPK researchers in industrial and academic labs conduct in-depth investigations of DMPK properties to resolve emerging issues for drug candidates or marketed drugs. The Ding lab and others in the DMPK field have developed many transgenic mouse models that target various biotransformation enzymes and related proteins, which are valuable tools to address some of the common issues encountered in drug development, such as low bioavailability, formation of reactive metabolites, and toxicity in rodent models. In this talk, Dr. Ding will highlight the importance of DMPK research in drug development and describe the unique advantages of these mouse models.