The risk identified from clinical trials

Abstract

Toxicology is not a black art but a science which belongs to the general group of the pharmacological sciences. As such it must be analysed in terms of factors such as dose, route of administration, duration of exposure and individual (usually genetic) predisposition. The reason that toxicology, both in animals and in man, often does appear to be more of an art than a science is that prescribers, regulators and industrialists usually have to make their decisions on the basis of inadequate data. They do so in the name, often quite reasonably, of trying to minimize risk.