Pharmacokinetics of apricitabine, a novel nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, in healthy volunteers treated with trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole

Abstract

Objectives: Apricitabine is a novel deoxycytidine analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor under development for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection. This study was performed to investigate potential pharmacokinetic interactions between apricitabine and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole.

Methods: Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated for single and multiple doses of apricitabine (and its metabolite BCH-335) in the presence and absence of steady-state concentrations of trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole in healthy volunteers.

Results: Plasma concentrations and areas under the concentration-time curves of apricitabine and BCH-335 metabolite were higher when apricitabine was administered with trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole than when apricitabine was given alone, both following single doses and during multipledosing. Apricitabine was well tolerated, both when given alone and with trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole.

Conclusions: These results suggest that exposure to apricitabine and its metabolite BCH-335 is moderately increased during co-administration with up to 960 mg q.d.s. trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole. The size of this interaction does not appear to be influenced by the dose of trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole and is consistent with that seen with other cytidine analogues. Dose adjustment of apricitabine does not appear to be warranted when the drug is given with trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole.