Clinical Pharmacology = Disease Progression + Drug Action
Nick Holford, MBChB, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Dr. Holford’s talk will focus on modeling in clinical pharmacology. Like many disciplines, clinical pharmacology can be viewed from several perspectives. In the context of a clinical trial of a therapeutic agent, clinical pharmacology provides a conceptual framework for relating drug treatment to responses and differentiating possible mechanisms of action. Disease progression refers to the evolution of a disease over time. It typically implies worsening of the disease (but also may include spontaneous recovery). Disease progress on the other hand is a description of the disease and its response to treatment. In the context of simulation and modeling, it is useful to think of clinical pharmacology as a model itself, i.e., the combination of disease progression and drug action.