ESQlabs and PumasAI come to Cape Town

In July 2025, our group hosted two technical workshops by ESQlabs and PumasAI.

Delegates joined from both our team and other university groups, including our collaborating team from Stellenbosch University.  These workshops offered distinct modelling approaches for pharmacometric analyses – ESQlabs offering a course on physiology-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling using OSP-Suite open-source software, and PumasAI demonstrating population pharmacokinetic modelling using the Pumas platform. 

ESQlabs

ESQlabs specialises in mechanistic modelling and quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP), with a focus on integrating physiological and clinical data to support predictive modelling in drug development. Dr. Stephan Schaller (founder of ESQlabs GmbH) led the session, using case studies to illustrate applications of mechanistic approaches to complex pharmacology questions. The workshop highlighted strategies for building and applying QSP models to better understand drug behaviour and optimise treatment strategies.

PumasAI

PumasAI develops an integrated modelling and simulation platform built on the Julia language, enabling population PK/PD modelling, simulation, and visualisation within a unified environment. The workshop, led by Vijay Ivaturi, David Müller-Widmann, and Asma Baliouze, demonstrated Pumas tools for streamlining workflows and improving reproducibility. 

Participants engaged in hands-on population PK/PD exercises using their own working data and models to explore how the platform combines data handling, model building, and output generation in a single interface. Students described it as a definite highlight of the event.
 

These sessions offered a fabulous opportunity to explore new tools and connect with colleagues the team seldom gets to see in person. We greatly appreciate everyone’s attendance – and especially thank Stephan from ESQlabs and the PumasAI team for travelling all the way to Cape Town, South Africa, to make this event possible!