Mechanisms-based pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling
When studying the effects of drugs, there is often a large gap between pharmacological responses seen in various in vitro (cell-free, cell-based) assays and clinical response. We aim at closing these gaps by mathematical modelling, so that a consistant workflow and gain of knowledge can be achieved, even if different experimental methods were used. For HIV, we are particularly interested in predicting the clinical effectiveness and to anticipate mutational dynamics, which can be driven by drug pressure. For these reasons, we have developed a "transduction" model , which provides a bridge between viral attributes, such as susceptibility and fitness of various strains, pharmacokinetics and clinical markers, such as viral load. Currently, we are are developing new mathematical concepts for predicting drug efficacy in vivo, based on microscopic kinetic data, which highlight cell- and virus-specific factors of susceptibility of drug efficacy ( link ).