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What is PK/PD Modeling?

Pharmacokinetics (PK) describes the processes that affect drug concentration in the body through processes like absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME). Pharmacodynamics (PD) characterizes the relationship between drug concentration (or dose) and the resulting pharmacological effect. That is, PK describes what the body does to a drug while PD describes what a drug does to the body. PK/PD modeling integrates PK and PD to describe how the pharmacological effect of a drug changes over time, using mathematical models to capture the relationships between PK and PD.

With PK/PD modeling, researchers can:

  • Predict drug concentration over time.
  • Assess drug efficacy and safety.
  • Optimize dosing strategies.
  • Compare different compounds or formulations.