Introduction

Animal models of diseases play a pivotal role in drug discovery and development, not only for proof of the concept studies of efficacy, PK/PD relationship but also for drug safety assessment. Since considerable differences in variables exist between animal models and human models (such as genetics, physiology, anatomy, gene expression, heterogeneity of disease conditions, etc.), not all the preclinical models are able to represent the pathophysiological conditions in human diseases. Therefore, partly due to the lack of congruency between animal and human disease models, several proposed therapeutic agents in the past decades have been demonstrated to be effective in preclinical models but failed in clinical studies. This e-book focuses on animal models of diseases from a translational perspective and highlights the key advantages and limitations of each model described to facilitate drug discovery and development. A unique feature of the volume is that it contains a selection of details disease models in various therapeutic niches with significant unmet medical needs, including inflammation, neurological diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and oncology.

This e-book is, therefore, of considerable value to researchers and clinicians involved in drug discovery and development as well as pathology.