Comments from the Award Winners
![]() |
On receiving the Best Oral AwardMitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation
|
I am pleased to announce that I received the Best Oral Award for the presentation entitled “Construction of PBPK models describing the effect of simeprevir on co-administered drugs and endogenous substances” at the 37th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Pharmacokinetics. Thank you very much for selecting the Best Oral Award for the presentation entitled “Construction of PBPK models describing the effect of simeprevir on co-administered drugs and endogenous substances. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who were involved in the conference organization and the selection of the award.
Understanding the characteristics of drug-drug interactions is extremely important for proper drug administration. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of multiple drug-drug interactions using a physiological drug kinetics (PBPK) model with simeprevir, an oral hepatitis C drug that inhibits CYP3A4 and OATP1B, as a model drug. The analysis was complicated by the need to take into account not only drug-drug interactions but also the effects of hepatitis on drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters in the liver, i.e., disease-drug interactions. As a result, we were able to estimate “reliable” inhibition constants for CYP3A4 and OATP1B that reproduce multiple drug-drug interactions. I believe that the analytical process demonstrated in this research will contribute to improving the quality and speed of drug development in the actual drug discovery process.
Through this award, I have realized once again the importance of connecting not only with my own organization, but also with researchers outside of it, and of engaging in friendly competition with each other. Finally, I would like to thank the many people who have supported me in receiving this award. I would like to thank Dr. Yuichi Sugiyama of Josai International University, the PKPD seminar professors, and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation for their guidance, and at the same time, I would like to thank my family for their constant support.