DMPK (drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics) is a core scientific discipline in drug discovery and development, and programs that underinvest in DMPK strategy early often pay for it later.   At the discovery stage , the DMPK objective is to optimize key PK parameters (CLpu, Fpo, t1/2, MRT) and balance target-relevant exposure against potency, off-target risk, and drug-drug interaction (DDI) potential to meet the Research Target Profile (RTP), while building PK/PD understanding