Introduction to Pharmacokinetics: From ADME to PK/PD

A critical aspect of a drug involves how a drug is dosed and circulates throughout the body of a patient. These qualities are aspects of a drug’s pharmacokinetics or PK. Pharmacokinetics encompasses how a drug is absorbed and flows through a patient until it is ultimately eliminated. While pharmacokinetics covers drug behavior in a living organism, PK properties can often be predicted through laboratory tests for a compound’s ADME properties. ADME stands for absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. The PK and ADME properties of potential drug are closely monitored throughout the discovery and early development stages of a drug campaign.