Pharmacodynamics

Also known as: PD

How a drug affects the body — its biological effects, receptor occupancy, and dose-response.

Definition

Pharmacodynamics describes how a drug affects the body — its biological effects, receptor binding, dose-response, and time-course of effect. Common PD measurements: receptor occupancy, enzyme inhibition percentage, biomarker change (e.g. LDL-C, HbA1c), and effect duration.

See also

• Pharmacokinetics — How the body processes a drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion (ADME).
• Mechanism of action — The specific biochemical interaction by which a drug produces its pharmacologic effect.

Other pharmacology terms

• Mechanism of action
• Pharmacokinetics
• PROTAC
• ADC
• CAR-T
• mAb