Abstract
Drug interactions can be divided into those involving the pharmacokinetics of a drug and those affecting the pharmacodynamic response to it. Following strategies should be considered for avoiding pharmacokinetic drug interactions of new chemical entities under development. 1. To estimate the major metabolic pathways (including metabolic activation) using human liver preparations. 2. To identify the enzyme systems participating in the major metabolic pathways. 3. To examine metabolic inhibition for other drugs and by other drugs. 4. To confirm a pharmacokinetic effect for the combined drugs in vivo.