RSB: Introduction to PK/PD Concepts course

Royal Society of Biology: Introduction to PK/PD Concepts course

Increasingly DMPK departments are involved in the design and analysis of in vivo pharmacology (PKPD) experiments. This 2 day course aims to cover the basic concepts of PKPD that will allow scientists to start practising PKPD interpretation. The course is for DMPK scientists, and their biology and pharmacology colleagues, who want to learn more about the PKPD and its uses for drug discovery and development. Prior mathematical experience is not required and the objective is not to teach hands on modelling but understanding and interpretation: “what does it mean?”. The course covers a range of topics of linkages between plasma/blood PK and PD, reasons for observing a delay between PK and PD, and the effects of drug tolerance. PKPD knowledge specific to antibodies will
be taught as well.

The course format is a lecture followed by hands-on exercises in small tutor groups. Further discussion of the exercises will be as a whole course group. The hands-on exercises will use example data sets to illustrate the concepts taught in the lectures. Special emphasis will be placed on good design of in vivo PKPD experiments and a systematic approach to understanding trends observed in the data.

A basic working knowledge of in vivo pharmacokinetics is assumed, but delegates will not have to be experts to get the full benefit of the course.