Simcyp extends application in areas of PD modelling and drug distribution within CNS

Simcyp Limited is pleased to announce significant additions to its flagship simulator in line with priorities established by the Simcyp Consortium of global pharmaceutical companies.

The Simcyp Population-based Simulator - the pharmaceutical industry's most popular and sophisticated platform for the simulation and prediction of drug-drug interactions and pharmacokinetics (PK) in stratified populations - has now extended its application in the areas of pharmacodynamic (PD) modelling and drug distribution within the central nervous system (CNS).

The original version of Simcyp's PD module, released in 2010, allowed assessment of direct concentration-response relationships with propagation of inter-individual variation in PK. These features have now been expanded to include more target organs and PD response transduced through intermediate modulators.

The core physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models within the Simcyp platform now include a multi-compartmental representation of the blood-brain/spinal barriers, allowing assessment of the impact of specific transporters on drug distribution (and its inter-individual variability) within the central nervous system.

Commenting on the new release, Professor Amin Rostami-Hodjegan, Director of Scientific Research and Development, said: "These developments have been guided by Simcyp Consortium members who have expressed significant interest in having access to more advanced modules. We will continue to work with these groups on specific areas of interest."

The Simcyp Population-based Simulator undergoes major upgrades each year to keep pace with industry requirements. Other additional features implemented in this release (Version 11) include a significant expansion of the general drug distribution model, the provision of further options with respect to non-CYP mediated metabolism and the inclusion of more compound files within the extensive databases.

Reflecting on the growing capabilities of the Simcyp platform, Executive Director Dr Steve Toon said: "It is not long ago that the Simcyp Simulator was viewed simply as a drug metabolism tool. It is immensely satisfying to see our current products and services being so well received and now having a much wider impact on drug development."

Source: Simcyp