Pharmacokinetics of Drug Candidates

Abstract

Pharmacokinetics is a mathematically based discipline that describes the time course of uptake, distribution, and elimination of a drug in an organism. This article explains the physiologic basis and clinical interpretation of the various pharmacokinetic parameters, such as half‐life, clearance, and oral bioavailability. Because of the central importance of pharmacokinetics to the clinical use of drugs, the determination of pharmacokinetics is required at several points in the research and development cycle of new drug candidates. The rationale and methods of determination are discussed.