New review article coauthored by Dr Gerry Kenna accepted for publication in the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics:
Medicines can cause serious unwanted side effects in some patients. These include drug-induced liver injury (DILI), which is poorly predicted by the currently used safety test methods. Assays that focus on human-relevant mechanisms can provide more useful data. One important mechanism is inhibition of a liver cell membrane transport protein called the Bile Salt Export Pump (BSEP). This article reviews the evidence linking BSEP inhibition with DILI and describes methods to evaluate and interpret BSEP inhibition. It also recommends how these data can be used to aid the design and selection of safer medicines. The authors from Safer Medicines Trust, major pharmaceutical companies, universities and biotechnology companies were brought together by the International Transporter Consortium.