Preface
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Published:20 Nov 2015
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Special Collection: 2015 ebook collectionSeries: Drug Discovery Series
New Horizons in Predictive Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, ed. A. G. E. Wilson, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015, pp. P009-P010.
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Since the pioneering work and treatise by authors such as Tecwyn Williams, Dennis Parke, Bernard Brodie Milo Gibaldi, and other global leaders, a plethora of reviews and books have been published on absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and pharmacokinetics (ADME/PK). It may, therefore, seem foolhardy to think that a book on predictive ADME and PK could add substantially to the literature and assist in the shifting focus we are seeing in the pharmaceutical, chemical and life science industries towards predictive approaches. However, it is a testimony to a field that had its origins in the 19th century that it continues to evolve in sophistication, understanding and in its multi-disciplinary impact, and continues to be a critical component in the efficacy and safety of drugs, chemicals, and biologics. For those of us who have had the pleasure of working in this field, it has been a most rewarding experience and journey, since we have seen the continuing awareness and impact that our science has made to the safety and efficacy of new chemical entities. Perhaps there is no better example of this than the impact the introduction of high-throughput ADME screening has made in reducing ADME/PK related attrition in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. However, despite this, a significant challenge still exists to improve the success rates of our discovery and development processes to allow patients faster access to safe and effective drugs. The high rate of attrition of promising drug candidates continues to be a major issue in meeting the medical needs of our patients and the future success of the pharmaceutical industry.
The current focus and urgency in the pharmaceutical industry is to shorten the time lines for all aspects of drug discovery and to improve the ability to filter out early potential ADME/PK, safety, and efficacy issues. We are therefore seeing increasing interest and focus on predictive approaches. These predictive approaches are completed in the early drug discovery phase and will gain increasing importance in the coming years in allowing early identification of potential ADME/PK issues.
This book presents a comprehensive treatise by leading experts on the current issues and challenges facing drug metabolism and PK (ADME/PK), and the role of predictive models in drug discovery and development in improving the success rate and safety assessment of pharmaceuticals. The hope of this book is that it will assist in the continuing paradigm shift of the incorporation of ADME/PK prediction and assessment into the drug discovery and development process, and in the overall paradigm of exposure assessment. The authors not only discuss the current state of the art methodologies, but perhaps more importantly focus on the future needs in ADME/PK that are likely to improve our prediction and optimization of ADME/PK, efficacy and human safety. The authors of the various chapters represent leading experts and investigators in the respective areas.
As mentioned previously, many books have been published over the past century in the field of drug metabolism and PK, these not only add to our continuing understanding of the complexity of the field within which we are privileged to work, but also add to the impact that our field has on improving human health and the environment in which we live. Any book of this nature is only as good as the expertise and vision of the contributing authors and I am deeply indebted to all of the experts who have contributed to making this book such a rewarding experience and a valuable addition to the field of ADME/PK.
Alan G. E. Wilson
Texas, USA