preclinical

adjective

pre·clin·i·cal | \ (ˌ)prē-ˈkli-ni-kəl

Definition of preclinical

1 : of, relating to, or concerned with the period preceding clinical manifestations

2 : of, relating to, or being the period in medical or dental education preceding the clinical study of medicine or dentistry

3 : occurring prior to clinical testing a preclinical animal study of a new therapy

Examples of preclinical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In preclinical trials, the vaccine effectively protected about 66% of nonhuman primates against HIV-like viruses. — Emily Baumgaertner, Los Angeles Times, "HIV prevention is making progress. And a breakthrough vaccine appears within reach," 6 Sep. 2019 Human and preclinical studies have also revealed new electrical codes for how brain cells work together to produce emotions. — Kafui Dzirasa, WIRED, "A New Approach to Treat Mental Illness: Electrical Engineering," 28 June 2019 Proceeds will fund clinical development of two cancer drugs now in human testing, other cancer drugs in the preclinical stage, and for working capital, the San Diego company said in a statement Tuesday. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Cancer drug developer Mirati Therapeutics raising nearly $204 million," 25 June 2019 In preclinical testing on mice, the drugs have shown promise in dramatically reducing the size of tumors. — Lauren Caruba, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio researchers check synthetic version of capsaicin — the heat in chili peppers — for cancer-killing effects," 9 June 2019 Still, preclinical and animal models support CBD as a viable therapy for anxiety, and multiple human case studies add to the evidence. — The Editors, Marie Claire, "10 Health Issues CBD Could Solve," 17 Apr. 2019 The companies said the portfolio Pfizer is contributing includes three clinical-stage compounds and several preclinical compounds aimed at a range of disorders, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, schizophrenia and addiction. — Colin Kellaher, WSJ, "Pfizer, Bain Capital Create Company Focused on Nervous System Diseases," 23 Oct. 2018 Alzheimer’s disease goes through five stages starting with preclinical Alzheimer’s (when symptoms aren’t noticeable) and ending with the final phase, severe dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. — Korin Miller, SELF, "5 Caregivers Share 11 Tips for Looking After Someone With Alzheimer's," 11 Oct. 2018 Yes, said Mendell, based on preclinical work, but proof will only come from longer follow-up in the patients to determine if muscle function remains stable or even improves. — Adam Feuerstein, STAT, "With tantalizing early results, Sarepta’s gene therapy for Duchenne raises hopes for ‘real change’," 19 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'preclinical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

13 Sep 2019

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The first known use of preclinical was in 1876

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More Definitions for preclinical

preclinical

adjective

pre·clin·i·cal | \ (ˈ)prē-ˈklin-i-kəl

Medical Definition of preclinical

1a : of, relating to, concerned with, or being the period preceding clinical manifestations the preclinical stage of diabetes mellitus

b : occurring prior to a clinical trial preclinical animal testing to assess a drug's safety

2 : of, relating to, or being the period in medical or dental education preceding the clinical study of medicine or dentistry the preclinical years specifically : of or relating to the early period of prescribed medical or dental study devoted to the basic sciences (as anatomy, physiology, and pathology) preclinical studies

3 : of, relating to, or being a science basic to medicine research in the preclinical sciences