Genetically engineered mice in drug development

Complex metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes (noninsulin-dependent diabetes) and obesity present a difficult challenge to pharmaceutical companies in their attempts to develop new therapies. The polygenic nature of these diseases and the influence of nongenetic factors make it difficult to identify the most critical molecular processes to target for drug development. Transgenic animal models provide an approach to evaluate specific sites in metabolic and hormone signalling pathways under physiologic (as opposed to in vitro) conditions, The advantages and limitations of using transgenic animals in drug development will be covered and an overview of recent information from transgenic studies relevant to type 2 diabetes and obesity will be given.