An Introduction to QSP Modeling for Pharmacologists

Quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) is an emerging field of modeling technologies that describes the dynamic interaction between biological systems and drugs. Recently, QSP is increasingly being applied to pharmaceutical drug discovery and development, and used for various types of decision makings. In contrast to empirical and statistical models, QSP represents complex systems of human physiology by integrating comprehensive biological information, hence, it can address various purposes including target and/or disease-related biomarker identification, hypothesis testing, and prediction of clinical efficacy or toxicity. On the other hand, structures of QSP models become quite complicated with huge amount of biological components, therefore, close collaboration between pharmacologists having profound knowledge of biology and drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) scientists, experts of model building, is crucial for QSP development and implementation. This article introduces, from DMPK scientists to pharmacologists, main features of QSP and its applications in pharmaceutical industries, and discusses challenges and future perspectives for effective utilization in drug discovery and development.