A latent pharmacokinetic time profile to model dose-response survival data

The accelerating rotarod test is a preclinical pharmacodynamic test to assess the effect of a treatment on an animal's motor coordination. Two models are proposed to analyze the dose-response time-to-event data that typically result from such experiments: (1) a linear regression model and (2) an E(max) model with latent drug concentration at the site of action. Both cope with the survival character of the data. The latter model allows a direct comparison of compounds, but raises the question of whether the study design would benefit from the inclusion of additional mice for plasma concentration sampling on the one hand or whether additional time-to-event data without plasma concentration sampling should be ascertained from these additional mice on the other hand. A simulation study explores the impact on operational characteristics of this change of study design.