Research group/lab

Pharmacy: Clinical Pharmacometrics

About our research group/lab

Our research

Prescribing a one-dose-fits-all-all perspective leads to suboptimal pharmaceutical care with side effects or reduced effectiveness. Pharmacometrics is a field of study that involves the quantitative analysis of pharmacology, often using mathematical models to characterize the relationship between drugs, the human body, and the disease. The Rotterdam Clinical Pharmacometrics group specializes in pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM), focusing on antibiotics, immunosuppressants, oncolytic, and psychoactive drugs. By implementing specific algorithms for individual patients, precision dosing enhances drug effects, reduces side effects, and fosters a more sustainable healthcare system.

Over the past decade, we restructured our PK/PD and TDM laboratory to apply model-based dosing and analysis directly in clinical practice. Using (non)compartmental modeling, we build PK/PD models and integrate machine learning and Artificial Intelligence through collaboration with TU-Delft & TU-Eindhoven. Model-informed precision dosing (MIPD) can now be implemented using electronic patient systems and smart software, advancing precision dosing in clinical practice.

This research line is led by Prof. Dr. B.C.P. (Birgit) Koch in collaboration with 1 associate professor, 3 assistant professors, and 3 post-docs.

Clinical Pharmacometrics research group

Targets for the future

Develop, integrate and implement novel research methods that contribute to precision dosing of drugs.

Pharmacometrics combines principles from pharmacology, mathematics, statistics, and computer science to optimize drug dosage regimens. The next 6 years we would like to:

Develop and integrate machine learning, artificial intelligence and physiologically-based modeling to further optimize 3 of our currently developed models.
Unravel the relationship of concentration in blood and target-site concentration using pharmacometrics modelling in 2 difficult-to-treat infections.
Implement and validate 3 of our pharmacometric models in clinical practice.
To develop an Item Response Theory (IRT) model with both local and national pharmacotherapy exam data. By 2026, model development has been completed and we have published our results. By 2027, the model will be applied in practice to optimize pharmacotherapy exam questions.

Traditionally, drug concentrations, used in pharmacometrics models, are measured in a laboratory and blood is currently withdrawn using a venepuncture. This leads to time delay, is patient unfriendly and requires complicated logistical systems. The next 6 years we would like to focus on a more accessible and sustainable process:
Develop a biosensor to enable real-time monitoring of 1 biomarker and 1 antibiotic, which can lead to a closed loop of agile drug dosing, in close collaboration with TU-Eindhoven.
Develop and implement 2 alternative matrices to measure drug concentrations, which are more patient friendly and can even be used at the patient’s home.
Reduce the volume needed to measure drug concentrations by 50% for 3 drugs.