The transition from experimental findings in animal models to clinical applications in human patients is a key challenge in pharmacology and toxicology. To date, this steps still inhibits a significant level of uncertainty explaining amongst others the continuously high attrition rates in pharmaceutical development programs. Computational modelling bears the promise to support cross-species extrapolation through mechanistic descriptions of relevant physiological processes. In this review, the benefits and limitations of computational approaches for clinical translation are discussed and the needs for future applications are outlined. A particular focus is laid on the differentiation between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. While the former determines drug exposure in plasma or specific tissues, the latter describes the resulting response, i.e. the therapeutic outcome or an adverse event. Based on a previous study it is argued that the main challenges for cross-species extrapolation is genetic divergence between different animal models and humans which will require novel inter-disciplinary concepts for clinical translation in the future.