Preclinical testing in the lab
In-vivo trials may involve Pharmacokinetic (PK) and Pharmacodynamic (PD) studies, to begin to ascertain the drug's mechanism of action. PK and PD trials study what a body does to the drug and what a drug does to a body, respectively.
Also investigated through pre-clinical trials is a drugs No Observable Effect Level (NOEL). This forms the starting point for subsequent trials and is the level at which the drug is dosed in amounts too small to have any measurable effect.
