Screens in Safety and Hazard Assessment
Shayne Cox Gad · 2002
In biological research, screens are tests designed and performed to identify agents or organisms having a certain set of characteristics that will either exclude them from further consideration or cause them to be selected for closer attention. In pharmaceutical safety assessment, our use of screens is usually negative (i.e., no activity is found); agents or objects possessing certain biochemical activities are considered to present enough of a hazard that they are not studied further or developed as potential therapeutic agents without compelling reasons (in cases of extreme benefit such as life-saving qualities).