In the last 20 years, modeling and simulations (M&S) have gained increased attention in pharmaceutical sciences. International industry and world-reference agencies have used M&S to make cost-efficient decisions through the model-informed drug development (MIDD) framework. Modeling tools include biopredictive dissolution models, physiologically based pharmacokinetic models (PBPK), biopharmaceutic models (PBBM), and virtual bioequivalence, among many others. Regulatorily, health agencies are becoming more and more open to accept the use of M&S to support regulatory applications, including setting dissolution specifications, quality-by-design (QbD), postapproval changes (SUPAC), etc. Nonetheless, the potential of M&S has been only barely explored in Latin America (Latam) across different actors: industry, regulatory agencies, and even academia. In this manuscript, we discuss the challenges and opportunities for implementing M&S approaches in Latam. Perspectives of regional experts were shared in a workshop. Attendance (professionals from industry, regulator, academia, and clinicians) also shared their views via survey. The rational development of bioequivalent generics was considered the main opportunity for M&S in regional market, particularly the use of PBPK and PBBM. Nonetheless, a critical mass of modeling scientists is needed before Latin American industry and regulators can actually benefit from M&S. Collaborations (e.g., Academia-Industry and Academia-Regulatory) may be a path to develop applied research projects and train the future modelers. Reaching that critical mass, scientists from industry may apply modeling across generic drug development process and life cycle, while regulatory scientists may issue guidelines in local language to support regional industry. Only at that stage could the full potential of MIDD be reached in Latin American generic markets.
Keywords: Latin America; MIDD; PBBM; generic drug products; modeling and simulations; pharmacometrics; virtual bioequivalence.