Nateglinide (Starlix, SDZ DJN 608 or A-4166), a new insulinotropic agent, is intended to be administered prior to a meal in order to improve early insulin release in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients. The effects of a meal on the oral bioavailability and pharmacodynamic actions of nateglinide were investigated. Twelve healthy male subjects completed this randomized, single-dose, four-way crossover study in which each subject received a 60 mg dose of nateglinide 10 minutes before the start of and immediately after a high-fat breakfast meal. In addition, each subject received a single 30 and 60 mg dose of nateglinide underfasting conditions. Plasma and urine concentrations of nateglinide were determined by an HPLC method while plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were measured by standard immunoassay methods. Compared to the fasted state, administration of nateglinide 10 minutes before the meal was associated with an increase in the rate of absorption (12% increase in Cmax and 52% decrease in tmax), while there was no significant effect on the extent of absorption (AUC). Alternatively, when nateglinide was given after the meal, a food effect was observed that was characterized by a decrease in the rate of absorption: 34% decrease in Cmax and a 22% increase in tmax but no significant effect on AUC. Nateglinide was rapidly eliminated with plasma t 1/2 = 1.4 hours. Its plasma renal clearance, 20.7 ml/min, appears to be due mostly to active tubular secretion. However, only 13% to 14% of the dose is recovered as nateglinide in the urine. The 30 and 60 mg tablets were dose proportional in terms of both AUC and Cmax; both tmax and t 1/2 were dose independent. Regardless of timing, the combination of a meal and nateglinide produced a larger increase in insulin levels than did nateglinide alone. Meal-related glucose excursions were eliminated when nateglinide was taken prior to the meal. Thus, the rapid onset/short duration stimulation of insulin release by nateglinide should allow good control of prandial hyperglycemia while limiting exposure to hyperinsulinemia.

Our results suggest a significant additive BP-lowering effect of DRSP/E2 on both systolic and diastolic BP in hypertensive postmenopausal women receiving ENA, consistent with an antimineralocorticoid effect. DRSP/E2, a HRT with antimineralocorticoid effects, could offer a novel potential mechanism for reducing cardiovascular end points in postmenopausal women.

The efficacy and pharmacokinetic profiles of two oral formulations of cyclosporine A (Sandimmune and Neoral; Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, East Hanover, NJ) were evaluated in 37 patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in a randomized, double-blind, modified, crossover study. Cyclosporine A (150 mg twice daily), administered in either formulation, reduced the severity of plaque lesions: 94% of all patients reported at least moderate improvement and 70% reported complete clearing. Approximately 2 weeks of therapy were required for drug exposure to stabilize on either formulation. Cyclosporine A exposure from Neoral was significantly greater relative to that from Sandimmune across all study weeks. At the eighth week (before crossover), AUC and Cmax values for Neoral and Sandimmune were 5618 +/- 1705 versus 3202 +/- 596 ng.h/mL and 1283 +/- 337 versus 623 +/- 173 ng/mL, respectively. In crossover analysis at steady state, the relative oral bioavailability of cyclosporine from the Neoral formulation was 54% greater than that from Sandimmune. Some pharmacokinetic parameters showed less variability both between and within groups of patients taking Neoral versus Sandimmune. Both formulations were well tolerated, in that most adverse events were of mild severity.

A d d ress correspondence and reprint requests to James F. McLeod, MD, Clinical Pharm a c o l o g y, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Route 10 East, East Hanover, NJ 07936. E-mail: james.mcleod@pharm a. n o v a rt i s. c o m .

No abstract

DRSP/E2 substantially lowers systolic and diastolic blood pressure when added to existing antihypertensive therapy with HCTZ in hypertensive postmenopausal women. In addition, DRSP/E2 has a potassium-sparing effect that counteracts HCTZ-induced potassium loss.

Complexation of dexamethasone (DX) and dexamethasone acetate (DXA) with 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) was investigated with an ultimate goal of formulating a topical ophthalmic solution of DXA. Aqueous solubility of DX and DXA was markedly increased due to formation of soluble inclusion complexes with HPCD. Based on characterization of complex formation by phase solubility and UV-spectroscopy methods, a stoichiometry of 1:1 and 1:1, 1:2 was assumed for DX-HPCD and DXA-HPCD complexes, respectively. The stability constants for complex formation estimated by phase solubility and UV-spectroscopy methods, respectively, were as follows: for DX-HPCD complex, K1:1 = 2193 and 2221 M-1; and for DXA-HPCD complex, K1:1 = 2240 and 2445 M-1 and K1:2 = 3 and 17 M-1. K1:1 of 2266 M-1 and K1:2 of 20 M-1 were also estimated for the DXA-HPCD complex by kinetics. The kinetics of DXA degradation in pH 7 phosphate buffer at 25 degrees C followed pseudo first order. The addition of HPCD decreased the rate but the order of reaction remained unchanged. Free DXA degraded at a faster rate than complexed DXA. Ocular bioavailability in conjunctiva, cornea, iris, and aqueous humor postadministration of a 25-microliters dose of formulations containing an equivalent of 0.1% (w/v) DX followed a rank-order of DXA-HPCD solution greater than DXA suspension greater than DX-HPCD solution greater than DX suspension.

The pharmacokinetics (PK) of the antiarrhythmic sotalol, which elicits Class III and beta-blocking activity, has not been adequately defined in a pediatric population with tachyarrhythmias. The goal of this single-dose study with administration of sotalol HCl at a dose level of 30 mg/m2 body surface area (BSA) was to define the PK of the drug in the following four age groups: neonates (0-30 days), infants (1 month to 2 years), younger children (> 2 to < 7 years), and older children (7-12 years) with tachyarrhythmias of either supraventricular or ventricular origin. The drug was administered in an extemporaneously compounded syrup formulation prepared from the tablets containing sotalol HCl. For safety, vital signs and adverse events were recorded and the QTc interval and heart rate telemetrically monitored. Scheduled blood samples were taken over a 36-hour time interval following dose administration. The drug concentrations in plasma were measured by a sensitive and specific LC/MS/MS assay. Standard compartment model-independent methods were applied to compute the salient PK parameters of sotalol. Twenty-four clinical sites enrolled 34 patients. Thirty-three had analyzable data. Sotalol was rapidly absorbed, with mean peak concentrations occurring 2 to 3 hours after administration. The elimination of sotalol was characterized by an average half-life of between 7.4 and 9.2 hours in the four age groups. There existed statistically significant linear relationships between apparent total clearance (CL/f) or apparent volume of distribution (V lambda z/f) after oral administration and the covariates BSA, creatinine clearance (CLcr), body weight (BW), or age. The best predictors for CL/f were CLcr and BSA, whereas BW best predicted the V lambda z/f. The total area under the drug concentration-time curve in the smallest children with a BSA < 0.33 m2 was significantly greater than that in the larger children. This finding indicated that the BSA-based dose adjustment used in this study led to a larger exposure in the smallest children, whereas the exposure to the drug was similar in the larger children. The dose of 30 mg/m2 was tolerated well. No serious drug-related adverse events were reported. It can be concluded that the PK of sotalol in the pediatric patients depended only on body size, except for the neonates and smallest infants in whom the disposition of sotalol was determined by both body size and maturation of eliminatory processes.