Symcyp Ltd., a Sheffield, UK company specializing in development of pharmacokinetic computer models, has released the “virtual rat” for pre-laboratory studies of the body’s response to drugs. The software should cut down on the number of vermin that lab techs have to handle, regardless of how cute and unfuzzy they are.
The simulator is a whole-body physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (WBPBPK) modelling platform which allows plasma and organ concentration-time profiles in rat to be predicted from rat in vitro data.
Simcyp Rat can be used to increase confidence in in vitro – in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) techniques. When used in conjunction with the Simcyp Population-based ADME Simulator, Simcyp Rat allows comparison of human and animal data without relying on allometric scaling which may not be a valid approach for some parameters. Based on the template of the original Simcyp Simulator (Version 8.1), Simcyp Rat has simplified, easy-to-use interfaces and well-validated models.
The model used in the Simcyp Rat module is based on the male Sprague-Dawley; however, the flexible platform allows the user to ‘build their own rat’ by changing parameters within the library.
Like the Simcyp human population simulator, Simcyp Rat contains databases of commonly used compounds. This allows researchers to validate implemented models and compare the properties of their new drugs with these reference compounds.
Press release: Simcyp launches ‘Simcyp Rat 2008’
Product page: Simcyp Rat Simulator
Image: Banksy
