Therapeutic Drug Monitoring /
Immunosuppressant DrugsPersonalized care starts with a test.

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) testing is performed to ensure that drug concentration is within the established therapeutic range for the drug to be effective and not cause drug toxicity.  Accurate TDM testing is vital to successful patient outcomes by:

• Maintaining steady drug concentrations
• Identifying non-compliance
• Assessing drug interactions
• Personalizing dosage

The common classes of drugs used to monitor to ensure correct blood concentration include antiepileptics, antiarrythmics, antibiotics, antineoplastics, bronchodilators, and immunosuppressant drugs.

The Siemens Healthineers therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) solutions go beyond simply measuring the amount of a particular drug in the patient’s system. Our broad assay measurement ranges allow for accurate results to help physicians prescribe effective treatment and avoid levels that can negatively impact patients.

• High-dose methotrexate (MTX) therapy is a key therapeutic agent for treating numerous types of cancer in both children and adults.
• High-dose methotrexate therapy can be highly cytotoxic and carries risk of severe or fatal damage to the kidneys, liver, heart, GI tract and skin.
• In addition to its use in oncology, MTX is often considered a first-line treatment for many autoimmune inflammatory disorders.
• Laboratory evaluation plays a key role in patient care.

Epilepsy, which is characterized by recurrent and unprovoked seizures, is the fourth most common neurological condition globally, affecting approximately 50 million individuals. Despite its significant prevalence and negative impact on quality of life, up to 70% of affected individuals could be seizure-free with proper diagnosis, treatment, and therapeutic monitoring strategies.

Anti-seizure medication (ASM*) therapy is the primary modality for mitigating symptoms and managing disease. Second-generation ASMs such as levetiracetam and lamotrigine are now widely prescribed compared to first-generation ASMs (e.g., valproic acid, carbamazepine, and phenytoin), as they offer significant benefits to patients, including fewer severe side effects, a better safety profile (e.g., during pregnancy), and greater tolerability in general.

Siemens Healthineers offers a broad portfolio of assays for therapeutic drug monitoring, including levetiracetam and lamotrigine.

Laboratory testing is a critical aspect of immunosuppressive drug therapy. Optimizing drug dosing is not only key to avoiding rejection, but also in reducing the severe side effects of these drugs, which often prompt patient non-compliance. The strategy is to employ a combination of drugs in doses that prevent acute rejection and loss of graft function without compromising overall health. Transplant patients are prescribed immunosuppressive drugs as lifelong maintenance therapy, and most drugs are routinely monitored.

With recognized drug testing expertise, Siemens Healthineers offers a comprehensive and expanding menu of tests across multiple instrument solutions to meet customers' immunosuppressant drug (ISD) testing needs in any setting.

Our unique ISD testing solutions provide the tools laboratories need to manage transplant patients.

• Fast, flexible, easy-to-use assays for enhanced productivity
• A full range of instrument and assay combinations to satisfy ISD needs in any setting
• Assays with simple or no manual sample pretreatment for reduced risk of error
• Integrated solutions that allow you to perform ISD testing alongside other critical assays