CRO toxicologists work with many different companies in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. As CROs conduct a wide range of studies, their toxicologists can become expert in the details of how to conduct and interpret complex studies across a range of species and dose routes.
Companies that develop pharmaceuticals or chemicals do not always have their own in-house facilities or have time/resource/space to conduct toxicology studies. It can thus be much more cost and time effective to employ a CRO to conduct the work. These organisations provide standard toxicology studies, assessing toxicity following short and long term exposure to a drug or chemical, and may also offer a broad range of specialised studies such as reproduction toxicology or genetic toxicology to further investigate toxic effects in detail.
Contracts placed with a CRO are often overseen by pharmaceutical or industrial toxicologists from the company requiring the study (the sponsor). This means that a CRO toxicologist may regularly meet with representatives of the sponsor company to discuss the planning, progress and interpretation of the study results. Communication is therefore a significant part of the job.