The right animal model is crucial for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies that aim to assess the safety and effectiveness of a drug candidate before testing it in human clinical trials. The right animal model plays the following roles in these studies:

1. Mimicking human physiology – An animal model that mimics human physiology closely is necessary for evaluating the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a drug candidate accurately. The animal model should possess similar biological processes, such as metabolism and excretion, and should have similar target organs as humans.
2. Evaluating the drug candidate’s absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion – An animal model enables scientists to determine how the drug candidate moves through the animal’s body, including how it is absorbed into the bloodstream, how it distributes to various organs and tissues, how it is metabolized, and how it is excreted out of the body. This information helps researchers develop suitable dosage forms and dosing regimens for testing in humans.