More customization means better help and big savings
When taking medicines for a longer period of time, customization is important. This is to prevent or minimize very unpleasant side effects. But also to reduce extra drug use as a result of side effects. With the right customization, millions of euros per year can be saved.
Because drugs are almost always tested on healthy white men between the ages of 18-55, an ‘average’ dose is created. When the actual drug intake takes place in the target group, such as children, people with a different genetic profile, different BMI, underlying disease pattern, gender, etc., a less optimal dose is created by definition. Depending on the purpose, utility, duration, cost and intensity of the medicine, much more targeted customization can take place. Better doses can be prescribed using algorithms based on patient records. As a result, people are helped better and faster, medicines are more effective and side effects and the associated use of medicines are prevented.
With customisation, for example in children, impactful side effects such as weight gain, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases can be prevented or reduced. With customization in the ICU, such as a higher dosage in the beginning, a shorter illness and medication use can mean.
“Given the serious side effects -often only discovered after registration-, the limited effectiveness of drugs and the rising costs of drugs, it is important to optimize dosage.” Research in the right patient group is essential for this. Said Birgit Koch, professor of clinical pharmacometry. “It prevents too much and incorrect use of medication and therefore many unnecessary costs. There are plenty of situations to consider in which the right target group can be researched, from women to children. If that doesn’t work, you can always turn to more ‘traditional’ reference groups. It is shocking when you know that 40 percent of the drugs used in children have not been properly studied in children!”
Solutions
By applying clinical pharmacometry, much more customization can take place in the administration of medicines. The latter is also very necessary because patients almost standard deviate from the average. Everyone is a bit average, but also not average.
In the future, patients will demand more and more customization from doctors. That is also quite possible, since knowledge exchange about drug use and the application of Artificial Intelligence and smart algorithms is becoming increasingly common. The most important bridge that needs to be made is that the current healthcare IT systems can also unlock these new algorithms at patient level.
Another important solution for customization is more research. While the pharmaceutical sector can achieve much more relevance and research gains by conducting research with the right target group, at the same time more money is needed for independent academic research. The latter is in the interest of patients and also to keep costs manageable. For the pharmaceutical sector, doing research on the relevant population carries the risk of selling fewer drugs and even more likely to have a drug disapproved
How is Prof. Dr. Birgit Koch?
Prof. dr. dr. Birgit Koch is the first person worldwide to hold a chair in clinical pharmacometry. While several dozen people in the world are specialized in pharmacometry, Birgit Koch is the first person to be a professor in the practical explanation of pharmacometry.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/birgitkoch/
What is Clinical Pharmacometry?
In pharmacometry, mathematical models are made that link the exposure to drugs and the effect of the drugs. Averages, but also variations and all variables that can influence this link are built into these models. This results in a tailor-made prediction of which dose is optimal for a particular patient. If this tailor-made dosage is used, this is referred to as clinical pharmacometry. Clinical pharmacometry is the next step in more customized care. In recent years, clinical pharmacometry has already been used for antibiotics in critically ill patients in intensive care, in patients with an infected prosthesis who have to use antibiotics and in children with autism with behavioral problems.