Advancing drug development with “Fit-for-Purpose” modeling informed approaches

Model-informed Drug Development (MIDD) is an essential framework for advancing drug development and supporting regulatory decision-making. The current review presents a strategic blueprint to closely align MIDD tools with key questions of interests (QOI), content of use (COU), and model impact across stages of development -from early discovery to post-market lifecycle management. To demonstrate how the strategy works, we have also provided examples of how the MIDD tools can be applied to enhance the target identification, assist with lead compound optimization, improve preclinical prediction accuracy, facilitate First-in-Human (FIH) studies, optimize clinical trial design including dosage optimization, describe clinical population pharmacokinetics/exposure-response (PPK/ER) characteristics, and support label updates during post-approval stages. Additionally, the roles of some commonly used modeling methodologies, such as quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR), physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK), semi-mechanistic pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), PPK/ER, and quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP), are highlighted. What is more, we also explored the evolving role of MIDD in the context of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) approaches. Further, MIDD utilities in development and regulatory evaluation of 505(b) (2) and generic drug products, as well as practical considerations of MIDD in regulatory interactions and asset acquisitions, are briefly discussed. At the end of the review, we briefly addressed the potential challenges faced by MIDD, such as lack of appropriate resources and slow organizational acceptance and alignment, as well as our perspectives on future opportunities of how MIDD could be further expanded.