The history of research in Pharmacology and Toxicology at Indian Veterinary Research Institute dates back to 1959 with the establishment of the Poisonous Plants Laboratory in the Animal Nutrition Division. In the year 1962, Indigenous Drugs Laboratory was established to pursue research on Indian medicinal plants. With the establishment of the Division of Physiology and Pharmacology in the year 1969, these laboratories were transferred to the newly created Division, where research work in different areas of Pharmacology and Toxicology, along with postgraduate teaching, was continued. During the V Five-Year Plan (in 1974), the discipline was given a separate status as the Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Subsequently, the division started functioning as an independent unit from the 1st January of 1976 in the present premises under the headship of Dr. M.S.Sastry. The activities of the Division since its inception were mainly (i) research in the areas of pharmacology, plant chemistry and toxicology, (ii) post-graduate teaching and (iii) disease investigation and consultancy. During the V Five-Year Plan, the Divisional activities were categorized into five main areas of research namely, research on indigenous drugs, experimental pharmacology, biopharmaceutics, chemotherapy and toxicology. Besides, there were post-graduate teaching and consultancy and advisory services. The Division has the distinction of developing herbal drugs, experimental models for pharmacological research, delineation of molecular mechanisms of action of various drugs and endogenous substances, establishment of dosage regimens of drugs in small and large animals, safety evaluation of toxicants, management practices for toxicities in animals, etc. The outcome of research has culminated into a large number of research publications in prestigious national and international journals. The technologies generated by the Division have been submitted in the form of patents. Out of three patents, one has been granted; provisional patent number has been assigned to the other and third is in examination process. As regards to human resource development, the students passing out from the Division are well placed in India and abroad in academics, research, private sector and field.