Sensitivity of male reproductive endpoints in nonhuman primate toxicity studies: A statistical power analysis

- Overall, male reproductive endpoints have poor power (less than 80%) to detect a 50% change from control with a group size of 3 monkeys.
- Confidently identifying adverse male reproductive effects with these endpoints would likely require specialized study designs with larger group sizes.
- Triggering of non-routine endpoints in cases where there is special concern for male reproductive toxicity is unlikely to increase sensitivity to detect adverse effects.

To determine the sensitivity of male reproductive toxicity endpoints in NHPs we performed a power analysis of routine and triggered endpoints using control data from sexually mature Asian and Mauritian NHPs. The power to detect a 50% change from control was 13-30% for male reproductive organ weights, ∼30% for testicular volume, 6-66% for seminal analyses and 10-78% for male hormones. Overall, male reproductive endpoints have poor power (less than 80%) to detect a 50% change from control with a group size of 3 monkeys. Confidently identifying adverse male reproductive effects with these endpoints would likely require specialized study designs with larger group sizes. Triggering of non-routine endpoints in cases where there is special concern for male reproductive toxicity is unlikely to increase sensitivity to detect adverse effects.