{"entity":{"id":"preclinical","kind":"term","name":"Preclinical","aka":["pre-clinical","preclinical studies","preclinical study","preclinical data","preclinical evidence","preclinical models","preclinical model","preclinical development","preclinical stage","discovery stage","early research","bench to bedside","translational","translational research","IND-enabling","proof of concept","proof-of-concept","mechanistic studies"],"tldr":"Everything done to a potential drug before it is given to a human: lab experiments, animal testing, and the safety and manufacturing work regulators require. Most candidates never make it out.","summary":"Preclinical development establishes that a drug hits its target, kills or slows tumours in cells and animals, can be made consistently, and is safe enough at the planned dose to test in people; toxicology in two species is normally required before the first human trial. 'Preclinical evidence' on this site means a claim supported only by such work, and the reader should discount it heavily: roughly 90% of drugs that enter human testing fail, and preclinical findings often do not reproduce even in other labs. Better models (organoids, humanised mice, patient-derived xenografts) and more rigorous reporting are attempts to shrink the gap between bench and bedside.","asOf":"2026-09-09","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-clinical_development","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-clinical_development"}],"tags":[],"related":["in-vitro-in-vivo","cell-line","model-organism","organoid","trial-phases","clinical-trial"],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":["pdx-models","organoids","crispr-screens"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Biology basics"},"route":"/terms/preclinical/","neighbours":{"term":[{"id":"cell-line","kind":"term","name":"Cell line","route":"/terms/cell-line/"},{"id":"clinical-trial","kind":"term","name":"Clinical trial","route":"/terms/clinical-trial/"},{"id":"in-vitro-in-vivo","kind":"term","name":"In vitro and in vivo","route":"/terms/in-vitro-in-vivo/"},{"id":"model-organism","kind":"term","name":"Model organism","route":"/terms/model-organism/"},{"id":"organoid","kind":"term","name":"Organoid","route":"/terms/organoid/"},{"id":"trial-phases","kind":"term","name":"Phase 1, 2 and 3 trials","route":"/terms/trial-phases/"}],"technology":[{"id":"crispr-screens","kind":"technology","name":"CRISPR functional genomics","route":"/technologies/crispr-screens/"},{"id":"organoids","kind":"technology","name":"Patient-derived organoids","route":"/technologies/organoids/"},{"id":"pdx-models","kind":"technology","name":"Patient-derived xenografts","route":"/technologies/pdx-models/"}],"drug":[{"id":"fenbendazole","kind":"drug","name":"Fenbendazole (veterinary anthelmintic)","route":"/drugs/fenbendazole/"},{"id":"ivermectin","kind":"drug","name":"Ivermectin","route":"/drugs/ivermectin/"},{"id":"mebendazole","kind":"drug","name":"Mebendazole","route":"/drugs/mebendazole/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-draganov-ivermectin-cold-tumours-npj-breast-cancer-2021","kind":"paper","name":"Ivermectin converts cold tumors hot and synergizes with immune checkpoint blockade for treatment of breast cancer (with 2026 expression of concern)","route":"/key-papers/paper-draganov-ivermectin-cold-tumours-npj-breast-cancer-2021/"},{"id":"paper-patel-ivermectin-cancer-curr-oncol-rep-2025","kind":"paper","name":"Ivermectin in cancer treatment: should healthcare providers caution or explore its therapeutic potential?","route":"/key-papers/paper-patel-ivermectin-cancer-curr-oncol-rep-2025/"},{"id":"paper-tang-ivermectin-potential-anticancer-pharmacol-res-2021","kind":"paper","name":"Ivermectin, a potential anticancer drug derived from an antiparasitic drug","route":"/key-papers/paper-tang-ivermectin-potential-anticancer-pharmacol-res-2021/"},{"id":"paper-juarez-ivermectin-repositioned-cancer-drug-2018","kind":"paper","name":"The multitargeted drug ivermectin: from an antiparasitic agent to a repositioned cancer drug","route":"/key-papers/paper-juarez-ivermectin-repositioned-cancer-drug-2018/"}],"journal":[{"id":"asia-pacific-journal-of-clinical-oncology","kind":"journal","name":"Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology","route":"/journals/asia-pacific-journal-of-clinical-oncology/"},{"id":"british-journal-of-cancer","kind":"journal","name":"British Journal of Cancer","route":"/journals/british-journal-of-cancer/"},{"id":"cancer-biology-and-therapy","kind":"journal","name":"Cancer biology & therapy","route":"/journals/cancer-biology-and-therapy/"},{"id":"cancer-investigation","kind":"journal","name":"Cancer investigation","route":"/journals/cancer-investigation/"},{"id":"cancer-reports","kind":"journal","name":"Cancer reports","route":"/journals/cancer-reports/"},{"id":"cancer-treatment-and-research-communications","kind":"journal","name":"Cancer treatment and research communications","route":"/journals/cancer-treatment-and-research-communications/"},{"id":"chinese-clinical-oncology","kind":"journal","name":"Chinese clinical oncology","route":"/journals/chinese-clinical-oncology/"},{"id":"european-journal-of-cancer","kind":"journal","name":"European Journal of Cancer","route":"/journals/european-journal-of-cancer/"},{"id":"jnci-cancer-spectrum","kind":"journal","name":"JNCI cancer spectrum","route":"/journals/jnci-cancer-spectrum/"},{"id":"jci","kind":"journal","name":"Journal of Clinical Investigation","route":"/journals/jci/"},{"id":"medical-oncology","kind":"journal","name":"Medical oncology","route":"/journals/medical-oncology/"},{"id":"oncology-karger","kind":"journal","name":"Oncology","route":"/journals/oncology-karger/"},{"id":"oncology-research","kind":"journal","name":"Oncology research","route":"/journals/oncology-research/"},{"id":"oncology-research-and-treatment","kind":"journal","name":"Oncology research and treatment","route":"/journals/oncology-research-and-treatment/"},{"id":"trends-in-cancer","kind":"journal","name":"Trends in cancer","route":"/journals/trends-in-cancer/"}]}}