The Use of the Dog in Toxicity Tests on Pharmaceutical Compounds

1 The preclinical animal safety testing strategy used in pharmaceutical development is generally successful, with the large majority of new medicines not causing serious toxicity in man. The use of the dog has significantly contributed to this achievement by aiding the selection of safe compounds for human trials.2 The dog should be selected as the non-rodent species for pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic, metabolic and other scientific reasons, not solely for practical considerations.3 The dog is an extremely useful laboratory animal, particularly for procedures requiring extensive handling, detailed observation or biological sampling.4 Refinements in the use of the dog have been achieved, but further progress is desirable. Retrospective analysis of pharmaceutical toxicity data could encourage the regulatory flexibility necessary for further progress.