Capturing the applicability of in vitro-in silico membrane transporter data in chemical risk assessment and biomedical research.

Costs, scientific and ethical concerns related to animal tests for regulatory decision-making have stimulated the development of alternative methods. When applying alternative approaches, kinetics have been identified as a key element to consider. Membrane transporters affect the kinetic processes of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) of various compounds, such as drugs or environmental chemicals.

Investigating the state of physiologically based kinetic modelling practices and challenges associated with gaining regulatory acceptance of model applications.

Physiologically based kinetic (PBK) models are used widely throughout a number of working sectors, including academia and industry, to provide insight into the dosimetry related to observed adverse health effects in humans and other species. Use of these models has increased over the last several decades, especially in conjunction with emerging alternative methods to animal testing, such as in vitro studies and data-driven in silico quantitative-structure-activity-relationship (QSAR) predictions. Experimental information derived from these new approach methods can be used as input for model parameters and allows for increased confidence in models for chemicals that did not have in vivo data for model calibration.