Re: RE: NONMEM 7 Update

On Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 2:35 PM, Alice Nichols<[email protected]> wrote: > The fact that NONMEM7 will not be open source code is very unfortunate, > > it has not been often, but there have been occasions when by going over the > source code I was able to understand aspects of NONMEM programming that were > still unclear to me, > > being able to get a look at the actual algorithms in software had been a > major advantage for NONMEM!!!! I agree that having the source code available, even though released under a restrictive license, can be valuable for a few people (myself included). I would assume that the majority (at least 51%) of users don't care, and probably shouldn't. The comment about open source release of comparable tools -- well, such do exist, and while some are suboptimal to NONMEM in their current implementations, they could be improved if the right people had time and interest -- but this is difficult, as the models and statistical framework is fragile, given the pressure most of us (in Pharma) have to use the minimal amount of information to get the most robust answer feasible. For example, the R packages nlmeODE, PKfit provide a starting point which could be brought up to speed with the right people supporting them, and other basic tools could be enhanced to provide a friendlier environment. People have pointed out Monolix, but that's more like NONMEM -- still requires a commercial blackbox to run. No problem with blackboxes for validation, SAS being the most famous. Anyway, there are serious discrepancies between the published algorithms and the implementations. So it isn't necessarily possible to use the published work alone to figure out how to reconstruct estimates except for straightforward model/data combinations. unless the community is willing to put in (after-hours) effort for a real open source solution, let's enjoy the strong support we currently get from our commercial providers, and support and work with them. After all, they are working to get our support (and funding!). best, -tony (Stacey, for you: Group Head, M&S Statistics, Novartis Pharma AG). [email protected] Muttenz, Switzerland. "Commit early,commit often, and commit in a repository from which we can easily roll-back your mistakes" (AJR, 4Jan05). Drink Coffee: Do stupid things faster with more energy!