Nonparametric Identification of the Minimum Effective Dose

Summary. We consider identifying the minimum effective dose (MED) in a dose-response study, where the MED is denned to be the lowest dose level producing an effect over that of the zero-dose control. Proposed herein is a nonparametric procedure based on the Mann–Whitney statistic incorporated with the step-down closed testing scheme. A numerical example demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed nonparametric procedure. Finally, the comparative results of a Monte Carlo level and power study for small sample sizes are presented and discussed.