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A graded dose-response relationship is shown below with the drug concentration on the $\log$ scale on the $x$ axis and the response on the $y$ axis :

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According to this website:

Slope: a useful parameter - when it is shallow, it suggests a greater chance of overlap between desired effects and side-effects, whereas a slope which is too steep suggests that it will be difficult to achieve precise control of the effects.

I want to understand how does the slope as $\frac {Response} {concentration}$ have the meaning mentioned above?

Positron12
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Since the drug concentration axis is logarithmic, even a small change in the nominal drug concentration can have a large effect if the slope is steep, so getting the correct dosage could be problematic. Accordingly, this requires care in drug concentration preparation and, in particular, it might make it harder to avoid overdoses.

For a shallow slope, a relatively large change in drug concentration may be needed in order to achieve the desired result. But side effects of the drug do not necessarily follow the same dose response relationship. So increasing dosage by a factor of 10, for example, might pose a much higher than factor of 10 risk of side effects.

Ed V
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