Empowering the PK Community: Insights from the Phoenix® User Events

The first stop was Barcelona, where the Phoenix User Group Meeting took place as part of Certara’s customer event, Certainty. Phoenix users from across Europe came together for two days of big picture thinking and hands-on learning.

On Day 1, participants heard from distinguished speakers sharing insights on trends and visions shaping the future of drug development. Day 2 took a practical turn, beginning with a hands-on workshop, “How to Simulate Steady State Profiles from a Single Dose,” led by Ana Henry, who demonstrated how to apply Non Parametric Superposition and WinNonlin modeling in practice.

After the workshop, it was time to introduce Phoenix Cloud, featuring innovative tools like TFL Studio and AI PK Reports. These new capabilities empower users to complete more PK workflow tasks directly in Phoenix, while performing familiar steps faster and more consistently. Many attendees took the opportunity to experience one-on-one demos and explore the new platform firsthand.

Next, the spotlight turned to the users themselves.

A lively panel discussion explored how automation in tasks such as data cleaning, execution, and reporting is transforming efficiency, consistency, and scalability in PK and PD workflows, all while preserving scientific integrity.

Panelists Catharina Pintassilgo, Maria Learoyd, and Fabian Gärtner shared both strategic and hands-on perspectives from their organizations. They discussed current challenges and what needs to be done to make PK workflows more effective. The consensus was clear that effective automation in PK and PD workflows accelerates drug development by streamlining routine tasks and enhancing flexibility. It reduces repetitive work and allows scientists to focus on complex studies while maintaining expert oversight and ensuring regulatory compliance. Together, these benefits enable smarter and more scalable progress across the drug development process.

That phrase quickly became the most heard comment during the feedback session. Users were invited to share which features or improvements could make Phoenix even better. Many shared their day to day experiences, revealing the variety of ways teams approach similar tasks.

The exchange proved valuable not just for the Phoenix team, who gained inspiration for future features and roadmap planning, but also for the users themselves, who picked up practical tips and tricks from peers. During the on-site session, Phoenix experts explained that many of the requested capabilities already exist within the platform. They noted, for example, that users can overlay plots from different datasets and encouraged attendees to visit the Help Center for detailed instructions. The experts also pointed out the new Data Wizard tools in Phoenix 8.6, which allow users to generate row numbers by subject and period. These insights sparked enthusiastic reactions and several moments of surprise, with many participants remarking, “I didn’t know I could do that with Phoenix.”

The Phoenix Roadshow event in Copenhagen continued the theme of connection and exchange. The team met with a local group of clinical pharmacologists, DMPK scientists, and PK and PD researchers, many of whom have used Phoenix throughout their scientific careers. Once again, Phoenix Cloud received overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Highlights included scientific sessions by Simon Davis and Bernd Wendt:

• “Advancing IVIVC: Demonstrating the Superiority of the One Stage Approach”
• “From Model Structure to Molecule Selection: Machine Learning in Pre Clinical PK and PD Analysis”

These talks offered deep scientific insights and were excellent opportunities for professional learning and discussion.

For the Phoenix team, meeting users face to face is more than a networking opportunity — it is a vital source of insight and inspiration. Each conversation offers a deeper understanding of how scientists use Phoenix in their daily work and what would make their experience even better. As Senior Director of Product Fred Mahakian explains: “These in person meetings are an important complement to regular engagement channels like Customer Support, webinars, and the Help Center.”

The next Phoenix Roadshow is already on the calendar: Basel, 2025年11月19日. Learn more and register here.

You can also meet the Phoenix team at other upcoming events across the globe.

• November 9–11: AAPS 2025 PharmSci 360
• November 26-28: PKUK 2025: