The International Society of Pharmacometrics’ Special Interest Group on Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (ISoP QSP SIG): Recent Developments and Future Vision
Cesar Pichardo-Almarza (1), Krina Mehta (2), Anna Kondic (3), Yannis Androulakis (4), Marissa Renardy (5), Lourdes Cucurull-Sanchez (6)
(1) AstraZeneca, UK, (2) Kyowa Kirin, US, (3) Bristol Myers Squibb, US, (4) Rutgers University, US, (5) Certara, US, (6) GSK, UK
Objectives:
The use of Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) as part of the drug development process just keeps growing over the years, proving to be an additional tool for model-informed drug development (MIDD). Collaboration and science dissemination in this field are crucial, and scientific communities can help with the coordination of efforts. To this end, the International Society of Pharmacometrics (ISoP) supports a Special Interest Group on QSP (QSP SIG). The main goal of the SIG is to advance the development and utilization of safe and efficacious medicines through the application of QSP. Consistent with this vision, the QSP SIG objectives are to:
- Advance the science of QSP by fostering a community for the exchange of ideas and knowledge
- Promote the application of QSP in drug development and regulatory decision-making
- Develop and maintain information resources for its members, including establishment of “best practices”
- Facilitate communication and advance knowledge through sponsored sessions at professional meetings, white papers, discussion groups, and publications
- Increase diversity in the QSP community
Methods:
The SIG has initiated numerous efforts to support its mission. It promotes the submission of QSP programming sessions at professional conferences. It fosters the formation of Working groups (WG) focused on specific topics of interest, including technical and applied aspects of QSP, in academic, industrial and regulatory environments. Currently WGs cover different areas including “Neuroscience”, “Inflammation & Immunology” and “Integrating QSP and Machine Learning”.
In addition, the SIG fosters and organises local and virtual QSP events, in some cases including funding, promoting the education of academic and early career scientists in the application of QSP in industry, and providing career path advice. This in turn helps put in touch professional organisations with emerging QSP talent.
Results:
In year 2023, the SIG organized several key events, including, a ‘Meet the SIG’ at the American Conference on Pharmacometrics (ACoP14), a student symposium, and a ‘Virtual QSP Week’ to facilitate sharing of cutting-edge knowledge and ideas amongst the members. The SIG WGs produced several publications that help to raise awareness about the value of QSP and to shape the future of QSP best practices. A summary of the current state of the SIG and how to join and get involved is shown below:
- The QSP SIG currently has around 200 members, with a leadership team and steering committee that includes industry, regulatory and academic representatives from various countries.
- Events organised in 2023 include:
- 3rd virtual QSP SIG Student Symposium (120 attendees)
- Virtual QSP Week 2023 with over 500 attendees.
- How to join the ISoP QSP SIG?
- Tick the box to join our SIG when joining/renewing your ISoP membership
- Click on ‘Join-the-SIG’ button in our website: https://sites.google.com/view/isopqspsig/home
- Join the ‘ISoP QSP Special Interest Group’ in Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12072362
- Send us an email: isop_qsp_sig@go-isop.org
- How to get involved?
- Share with the SIG your ideas / suggestions for:
- ACoP Conference programming / abstracts / sessions
- Pre-conference themes
- Organisation of local events
- Initiating WGs
- Engage, moderate & participate in discussion forums:
- Active on social media
- Local QSP SIG meeting contributions
- Join & contribute to the WGs
- Share publications, models, success cases
- Help spread the word about the SIG activities within other societies
- Elect / nominate / apply:
- 2024 Vice chair candidacy – a 4-year commitment, moving from Vice-Chair, to Chair Elect, to Chair and to Past Chair
- 2024 Communication director nominations/application – a 1-year commitment
- 2024 Secretary nominations/application – a 1- to 2- year commitment
Conclusions:
Since its creation in 2015, the ISoP QSP SIG has been actively promoting the sharing and dissemination of QSP-related content to advance this field and its continued application in pharmaceutical research & development. The SIG is coordinated by the leadership and steering team members to attain its vision and mission. The goal of this poster presentation is to increase awareness and community involvement and to foster future activities. We welcome participation, collaboration, and contributions from all interested parties and organizations.