Toxicogenomics in biomarker discovery.

In the area of toxicology, the subdiscipline of toxicogenomics has emerged, which is the use of genome-scale mRNA expression profiling to monitor responses to adverse xenobiotic exposure. Toxicogenomics is being investigated for use in the triage of compounds through predicting potential toxicity, defining mechanisms of toxicity, and identifying potential biomarkers of toxicity. Whereas various approaches have been reported for the development of algorithms predictive of toxicity and for the interpretation of gene expression data for deriving mechanisms of toxicity, there are no clearly defined methods for the discovery of biomarkers using gene expression technologies.

Application of toxicogenomics to drug development.

The application of advanced modern biomedical and chemical research technologies in the pharmaceutical industry has led to a significant increase in the number of potential drug targets and lead candidates. Whereas the drug discovery process is enhanced significantly, the failure rate of new compounds due to toxicity remains very high. The pharmaceutical industry is setting high hopes on the new discipline of toxicogenomics to revolutionize the process of drug toxicity assessment by reducing the bottleneck of new drug candidates and minimizing late-stage developmental failures.