Pharmacometric models in the development of biological medicinal products

Abstract: Biological medicinal products (BMPs) are a successful class of drugs that are indicated in numerous diseases.  Common among them is that complexities associated with their manufacture and analysis lead to a high cost compared to small-molecular weight drugs.  If the development cost can be brought down and the use of BMPs optimized, these drugs may reach more patients at more affordable prices. Further, there are a number of knowledge gaps related to the characterization of their disposition, immunogenicity and use which can be filled through the development and application of novel methods for data analysis. In this thesis work, pharmacometric models and methods were developed and applied to aid BMP development and clinical use.Model-based optimal design (OD) methodology was employed to reduce and optimize a published sampling schedule for a monoclonal antibody (mAb) displaying target-mediated drug disposition. Thus, illustrating that current sampling strategies for mAbs can be excessive from an economic and patient burden perspective.A novel hidden-Markov model was developed to characterize anti-drug antibody (ADA) response which can plague many biologics throughout clinical development and post-approval. The developed model accounted for ADA assay inaccuracies by utilizing information from the assay and the pharmacokinetics (PK) of the therapeutic in question and allowed for an objective assessment of immunogenicity.Model-based dose individualization and evaluation of low-dose prophylaxis (LDP) for coagulation factors were investigated in this work to improve treatment and lower costs. Individual doses were found to outperform standard-of-care while LDP was indicated as a viable treatment option in countries with limited coagulation factor access.Biosimilar development is yet another method to reduce the costs of biologics. The development of a PKPD model for a pegylated granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) allowed for model simulations to demonstrate PK sensitivity to small differences in delivered dose between a reference and potential biosimilar product. The sensitivity of the system may be one of the reasons for difficulties associated with the development of biosimilar pegylated GCSFs.In conclusion, the pharmacometric methods developed and applied in this thesis work can be used to improve BMP development.