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Dose Escalation

Meaning

Dose Escalation is a systematic and carefully controlled strategy employed in clinical trials, predominantly in early-phase studies, to gradually increase the dose of an investigational drug in successive small groups of study participants. The primary objective of this sequential procedure is to accurately determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or the optimal biological dose (OBD) that achieves a therapeutic effect while maintaining an acceptable safety profile. This careful, step-wise titration is essential for establishing the drug’s safety profile and initial pharmacokinetic parameters in humans.