Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling as a tool for drug development

Since the pioneering work of Haggard and Teorell in the first half of the 20th century, and of Bischoff and Dedrick in the late 1960s, physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling has gone through cycles of general acceptance, and of healthy skepticism. Recently, however, the trend in the pharmaceuticals industry has been away from PBPK models. This is understandable when one considers the time and effort necessary to develop, test, and implement a typical PBPK model, and the fact that in the present-day environment for drug development, efficacy and safety must be demonstrated and drugs brought to market more rapidly. Although there are many modeling tools available to the pharmacokineticist today, many of which are preferable to PBPK modeling in most circumstances, there are several situations in which PBPK modeling provides distinct benefits that outweigh the drawbacks of increased time and effort for implementation. In this Commentary, we draw on our experience with this modeling technique in an industry setting to provide guidelines on when PBPK modeling techniques could be applied in an industrial setting to satisfy the needs of regulatory customers. We hope these guidelines will assist researchers in deciding when to apply PBPK modeling techniques. It is our contention that PBPK modeling should be viewed as one of many modeling tools for drug development.