Introduction

Ontologies are a representation of domain knowledge using defined concepts and the relationships between those concepts in a manner understandable to both humans and machines.

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The role concept (hereafter referred to as 'role') and corresponding ontological role model pattern provide a structured and modular way to capture many different real-world complexities.

Related Competency Questions

• What is the active moiety of <SUBSTANCE>?
• What is the investigational/authorized medicinal product in <CLINICAL TRIAL>?

Relation to ISO-IDMP Standards

There is no general role pattern described in the ISO IDMP standards. However, roles are mentioned, e.g., for describing an ingredient in the context of a pharmaceutical product. See also Pattern: Ingredient - DRAFT

Modeling Pattern

In the following, we incrementally explain why we need roles, how contextualized roles are modeled in general and instantiated with examples.

Universal Statement without Role Pattern

Diagram 1: Simple statement that is universally true and doesn't require context.

Example: Amlodipine Mesylate Monohydrate is included Amlodipine EMC (a pharmaceutical product)

Diagram 2: Example for universal statement "Amlodipine mesylate monohydrate is included in Amlodipine EMC"

Basic Role Pattern

In order to further specify a relationship, we use the basic role pattern that allows us to provide details about the role and about where the role is realized, appears, or occurs (through property "is manifested in")

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The relationships "plays role" and "is played by" as well as the relationships "is manifested in" and "manifests" are inverse relationships respectively. Of course, these general classes "Thing" and "Role" are instantiated with more specific subclasses, as illustrated in the next example:

Example: Amlodpine Mesylate Monohydrate plays role active ingredient in Amlodipine EMC

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If multiple roles need to be further grouped or a role doesn't uniquely connect an object with its manifestation, then the Pattern: Constituencies - DRAFT needs to be applied.

Role Hierarchy in IDMP-O

The role (https://www.omg.org/spec/Commons/PartiesAndSituations/Role) is modeled as a class and can be specialized with sub-classes, some of which are shown in the next figure

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Diagram 5: Role hierarchy

Optional Context Definition

The context is a "situation" or frame of reference in which something applies, exists, happens, or is used, and that helps to illustrate or explain it. 

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As for roles, "context" can have subclasses to further specify its nature, e.g., jurisdiction, regulatory, scientific or similar.

Examples

Modeling the different active moiety roles for Aripiprazole Lauroxil in different contexts

The contextualized role pattern is used here to model interpretations of the active moiety role for Aripiprazole in different situations. Aristada is a drug developed by Alkermes and is composed of Aripiprazole lauroxil. Aripiprazole lauroxil is first metabolized to N-hydroxymethyl aripiprazole, which is then further metabolized to Aripiprazole which exerts pharmaceutical effects in the body. From a regulatory perspective, Aripiprazole is thus the active moiety. However, based on the interpretation of a patent by the US court, based on the fillings by the owner of the intellectual property (IP) on Aripiprazole lauroxil, the active component is stated as the N-hydroxymethylated product instead. Diagrams below demonstrate how in different contexts, the active moiety for Aripiprazole lauroxil can be either N-hydroxymethyl Aripripazole or Aripiprazole itself.

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In the third example, the USP salt policy context is considered when naming the active moiety for Aripiprazole lauroxil. The USP (United States Pharmacopeia) Salt Policy outlines a naming and labeling approach for drug products containing an active ingredient that is a salt, and applies to drug product monograph titles published after the 1st of May 2013. According to the USP salt policy, Aripiprazole lauroxil is designated as the active moiety for Aripiprazole lauroxil (Diagram 7).

Active Moiety Role for FDA Exclusivity

Diagram 7: Modeling N-hydroxymethyl aripiprazole as the active moiety for Aripiprazole lauroxil in a FDA patent exclusivity context

Active Moiety Role FDA GSRS

Diagram 8: Modeling Aripiprazole as the active moiety for Aripiprazole lauroxil in a regulatory FDA GSRS context

Active Moiety Role: USP Salt Policy

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USP documentation

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