What Pharmacometricians (Should) Do

Many people predict that application of modeling and simulation in drug discovery and development will continue to develop and grow rapidly. As a result, the demand for well-trained and experienced quantitative scientists may exceed the supply in the foreseeable future.¹ This will be music to the ears of those who are looking to develop their careers in this area, but it may also cause challenges and concerns for those responsible for resourcing modeling and simulation efforts in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and regulatory agencies. In a recent survey of 130 US life-science industry leaders with human capital responsibilities,² it was found that 51% of those surveyed reported that hiring has become more difficult than before, with only 28% stating that they were confident that they would have access to top talent. Part of the reason for this is the changing need for skills and expertise, and the same report states that biomedical engineers are among the highest growth scientific professions, with 62% job growth projected in the United States between 2010 and 2020.² Therefore, there seems to be a great need and opportunity for pharmacometricians and systems pharmacologists to help lead the growth and evolution of their disciplines into this bright new future and develop the next generation of modeling and simulation experts.³ An important component of this is to develop a better understanding of the current state of affairs, which can serve as the basis for strategic planning and investments. A recent White Paper from the Drug and Disease Model Resources consortium published in CPT: Pharmacometrics and Systems Pharmacology (CPT:PSP) provides one of the first detailed, systematic overviews of the competencies and skills of modeling and simulation scientists and their (perceived) impact on pharmaceutical research and development, based on a survey of ~150 participants from academia, pharmaceutical industry, and small–medium enterprises.⁴ As part of the journal's mission to contribute to the further growth of the disciplines of Pharmacometrics and Systems Pharmacology,⁵ CPT:PSP aims to facilitate the dissemination of such information and, through open-access publication, reach out to members of other scientific disciplines and engage them in the discussion. Limitations of the first Drug and Disease Model Resources survey⁴ include the fact that it was rather pharmacometrics-centric and mainly comprised of European participants. In addition, the findings regarding the impact and benefits probably need to be interpreted in the context of at least some “asking the converted” bias, and in future surveys, it would be important to get a better perspective of the perception of stakeholders with less vested interest. Readers of CPT:PSP are encouraged to make contributions to this important discussion.

Conflict of Interest

P.H.v.d.G. is a partner at Saltwood Consultants and serves as a scientific advisor to pharmaceutical companies and research organizations.