Pharmacology and Toxicology

The Pharmacology and Toxicology Division provides robust in-vitro and in-vivo assays to determine the safety and efficacy of novel therapies. Centre for Drug Research and Development–affiliated members can access safety and efficacy models and in-vitro assays through a single-point-of-contact structure. We assess how a drug candidate is distributed within the body, how it is removed from the body, and how effective it is against a disease or medical condition, and we determine its safety profile. Drug-like qualities can be evaluated in vitro using a broad range of assays that measure efficacy, drug-drug interactions, cardiovascular safety, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADME/Tox).

The division has the capacity to perform detailed in-vivo analysis of metabolism and pharmacokinetics. Through internal expertise and collaborations with leading experts, we can offer a broad spectrum of animal models of human disease to evaluate the effectiveness of candidate therapies. CDRD will evaluate promising compounds with desirable drug-like qualities and demonstrated in-vivo efficacy for a broad range of safety characteristics. The division is equipped with a range of tools designed to support pharmacology and toxicology studies. These include automated liquid-handling systems for high-throughput screening, multidetection plate readers, bioanalytical instrumentation, equipment for in-vivo telemetry and behavioral monitoring, and noninvasive optical imagers. Collectively our tools and expertise facilitate the evaluation and selection of safe, effective compounds and their advancement toward clinical trials.

Capabilities and Resources

The Pharmacology and Toxicology Division assesses the therapeutic activity and safety of drugs using biochemical assays, cell-based screening assays, and animal disease models.

ADME/ToxDMPKIn-Vivo Safety/Tox
  • Absorption
  • Metabolic stability
  • Drug-drug interactions
  • hERG block
  • Toxicity
  • Metabolic ID
  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Pharmacodynamics
  • Metabolism
  • Tissue distribution
  • Elimination
  • MTD
  • Serum and blood analysis
  • Necropsy
  • Safety
    • CNS
    • Cardiovascular
    • Respiratory
    • GI motility
EquipmentEquipmentEquipment
  • Liquid-handling workstation
  • Spectrum of readers
  • Meso Scale
  • Affymetrix
  • Electrophysiology
  • Liquid-handling workstation
  • Spectrum of readers
  • Meso Scale
  • Affymetrix
  • Electrophysiology
  • In-vivo optical imagers
  • Telemetry workstation
  • Home cage activity
  • Rotarod

Equipment Highlights

Capillary electrophoresis instrument for the analytical and bioanalytical measurement of oligonucleotides, siRNAs, and peptides.

In-vitro liquid-handling workstation for the automated determination of ADME/Tox and safety properties of candidate medicines.

Sequenom MassARRAY® instrument for SNP genotyping and gene-expression analysis.

In-Vitro PharmacologyMolecular PharmacologyIn-Vivo Pharmacology
  • Specialized array development
  • Mechanism of action
  • Biomarker assay development
  • Blood and serum analysis
  • Histology
  • Protein analysis
  • Biomarkers
  • Pathway analysis
  • Oncology
  • Metabolic disease
  • Infectious disease
  • Inflammation
  • Cardiovascular
  • CNS disorders
EquipmentEquipmentEquipment
  • Liquid-handling workstation
  • Spectrum of readers
  • Meso Scale
  • Automated & confocal microscopy
  • Gene-expression analyzer
  • Capillary electrophoresis system
  • Affymetrix
  • Typhoon multimode imager
  • In-vivo optical imagers
  • Telemetry workstation
  • Access
    • MRI, PET, intravital microscopy

 

Staff

Marcel Bally, Ph.D. — Division Chair

Head of Advanced Therapeutics, BC Cancer Agency, and UBC Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Bally has published over 170 scientific articles and 18 book chapters and holds 48 patents or patent applications.

Murray Webb, Ph.D. — Head, Pharmacology

Dr. Webb has 16 years of drug discovery and drug development experience in industrial and academic settings, with a focus on the conduct and management of translational in-vitro and in-vivo preclinical studies supporting the entry of novel drugs into clinical trials. Full bio