The acute, subacute and chronic toxicity studies in laboratory animals showed that closantel is a well tolerated substance. At multiples of the clinical dose, overdosing might result in central nervous system effects and death. Repeated oral dosing was without effects up to 40 mg/kg in rats and dogs except for focal swelling of the epididymis in male rats at 40 mg/kg due to formation of spermatic granulomas. In sheep repeated dosing at 10 and 40 mg/kg orally and at 5 and 20 mg/kg intramuscularly every four weeks during 40 weeks demonstrated an acceptable safety margin in this target species. Reproduction studies including a three-generation study in rats showed that fertility was not affected except slightly in male rats at 40 mg/kg whereas an embryotoxic or teratogenic potential in rats and rabbits was absent. Peri- and postnatal parameters in rats were not affected. In target animals, reproduction was extensively studied in bulls, rams and ewes showing no risk of closantel for reproduction parameters. A mutagenic potential was found to be absent in a Salmonella Ames test, a sex-linked recessive lethal test in Drosophila melanogaster and a dominant lethal test in male and female mice. In 400 mice and 400 rats closantel was shown not to be carcinogenic. Tolerance studies in sheep and cattle demonstrated that oral and parenteral clinical doses were very well tolerated and devoid of serious side-effects.

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