The science of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics studies the effect of the body on a drug and looks at the four stages of the drug’s “life” in the body: Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion
Absorption: The penetration of the drug into the body (the principal route of drug delivery is oral administration and subsequent absorption from the gut).
Distribution: The circulation of the drug through organs (e.g. liver) and body tissue (e.g. muscle and fat).
Metabolism: The transformation of the drug by the body (the primary site of metabolism is the liver).
Excretion: The rate and routes of drug removal from the body (urine and faeces are the most important routes of excretion).
The department performs non-clinical pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic studies to support the development of new drugs from pre-development through to registration. In addition, the department provides support in postmarketing and pharmacovigilance studies. Pharmacokinetic studies define the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion characteristics of a drug, including quantitatively important or pharmacologically active metabolites. Toxicokinetic and safety pharmacokinetic studies help provide important information on the toxicological and pharmacological safety profile of a drug by evaluating its pharmacokinetic characteristics with respect to dose and duration of exposure. The department also initiates pharmacokinetic pharmacodynamic studies to investigate the relationship between the dose and the observed pharmacodynamic effect.
Another role of the department is to identify the rates and routes of metabolism for new drugs in development, and the processes that influence their metabolism and eventually excretion. Metabolism studies include a sophisticated range of in vitro and in vivo techniques that support the characterisation of drug-metabolising enzymes, clinically relevant drug-drug interactions and the quantification and identification of metabolites. Further in vitro techniques are used to identify factors that potentially affect drug distribution and subsequently influence the metabolic fate of a drug.
Among the many analytical techniques available to scientists in the laboratory to support bio-analysis are sophisticated hyphenated high performance liquid chromatographic techniques including fluorescence, ultra violet, mass spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Coupled with these analytical techniques are important preparative techniques and the automation of sample preparation, data handling and interpretation.
Our laboratory is Good Laboratory Practice accredited.
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Last Updated 18/02/2009 16:39:30
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