Using Quantitative Approaches to Optimize Dosages for New Combinations and Subsequent Indications for Oncology Drugs

Ongoing efforts to optimize the dosages of oncology drugs have largely focused on the initial indication, with emphasis placed on maximizing the utility of all available evidence to improve dose finding, dose selection, and trial design; however, optimizing dosages for new combinations or subsequent indications is more complex and warrants further discussion. For example, the dose-response (DR) or exposure-response (ER) relationships can change when multiple drugs are used (combination therapies) and can differ between tumor types, patient populations, and treatment settings (subsequent indications). Quantitative approaches can help address the challenges of optimizing dosages for new combinations or subsequent indications. To further this dialogue, the US Food and Drug Administration's Office of Clinical Pharmacology and the International Society of Pharmacometrics co-sponsored a workshop to discuss the development of investigational and approved drugs in new combinations or for subsequent indications using model-informed approaches to investigate, support, and select optimized dosages for oncology drugs.