What is an occupancy study and what does it measure regarding target engagement?

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Occupancy studies are about target engagement. They measure how much of the drug’s target is occupied by the drug at a given dose, usually expressed as the fraction or percentage of targets bound. To quantify this, scientists use biochemical readouts (like binding assays in cells or tissues) or imaging readouts (such as PET imaging with a radiolabeled tracer) to estimate target occupancy in relevant tissues. Understanding occupancy helps connect drug exposure to pharmacologic effect and guides dose selection by showing how much target is engaged at different doses. The description in this option matches this concept: it measures the fraction of targets bound by the drug at a given dose using biochemical or imaging readouts. The other options refer to market metrics, tablet appearance, or stock forecasts, which are unrelated to pharmacodynamic target engagement.