Strategies to reduce late-stage drug attrition due to mitochondrial toxicity.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is increasingly implicated in the etiology of drug-induced toxicities and negative side-effect profiles. Early identification of mitochondrial liabilities for new chemical entities is therefore crucial for avoiding late-stage attrition during drug development. Limitations of traditional methods for assessing mitochondrial dysfunction have discouraged routine evaluation of mitochondrial liabilities. To circumvent this bottleneck, a high-throughput screen has been developed that measures oxygen consumption; one of the most informative parameters for the assessment of mitochondrial status. This technique has revealed that some, but not all, members of many major drug classes have mitochondrial liabilities. This dichotomy encourages optimism that efficacy can be disassociated from mitochondrial toxicity, resulting in safer drugs in the future.