Toxicological studies on halopredone acetate.

A toxicological study of 17,21-bis(acetyloxy)-2-bromo-6beta,9-difluoro-11beta-hydroxypregna-1,4-dien-3,20-dione(halopredone acetate; Topicon), a new topical antiinflammatory steroid, administered a laboratory animals, was carried out in order to evaluate the safety of this compound. Halopredone acetate compared favorably with either hydrocortisone acetate or potent synthetic corticoids in acute and subacute toxicity studies in mice and rats. This compound did not induce gastric ulcers in rats after repeated administration and did not have any teratogenic effect in rats and rabbits. Also, repeated daily application for 4 months to the skins of mice from two different strains was well-tolerated.