Come Dance With Me: Transformative Changes in the Science and Practice of Drug–Drug Interactions

Abstract

The past 2 decades have witnessed transformative changes in our approach to drug–drug interactions (DDIs) from scientific research to clinical practice. Collaborative cooperation across the sectors of academia, pharmaceutical industry, providers of translational research tools and services, global regulatory agencies, and healthcare providers has created and galvanized a science-informed and patient-centered approach. Multidisciplinary innovations in mechanistic assessment of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME), population pharmacology and pharmacogenetics, physiologically based modeling, and regulatory science have enabled a profound shift in mindset from risk aversion to informative prescribing guidance for optimal risk management. Foundational to this transformation is a commitment to maximizing the value of innovative therapeutics for all patients and across clinical contexts of use through rational knowledge management and translation based on the totality of best available evidence, thereby removing the void that can lead to arbitrary decisions in clinical therapeutics.