Background and Objective While one in five children in the USA are now obese, and more than three-quarters receive at least one drug during childhood, there is limited dosing guidance for this vulnerable patient population. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling can bridge the gap in the understanding of how pharmacokinetics, including drug distribution and clearance, changes with obesity by incorporating known obesity-related physiological changes in children. The objective of this study was to develop a virtual population of children with obesity to enable physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling, then use the novel virtual population in conjunction with previously developed models of clindamycin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole to better understand dosing of these drugs in children with obesity. Methods To enable physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling, a virtual population of children with obesity was developed using national survey, electronic health record, and clinical trial data, as well as data extracted from the literature. The virtual population accounts for key obesity-related changes in physiology relevant to pharmacokinetics, including increased body size, body composition, organ size and blood flow, plasma protein concentrations, and glomerular filtration rate. The virtual population was then used to predict the pharmacokinetics of clindamycin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole in children with obesity using previously developed physiologically based pharmacokinetic models. Results Model simulations predicted observed concentrations well, with an overall average fold error of 1.09, 1.24, and 1.53 for clindamycin, trimethoprim, and sulfamethoxazole, respectively. Relative to children without obesity, children with obesity experienced decreased clindamycin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole weight-normalized clearance and volume of distribution, and higher absolute doses under recommended pediatric weight-based dosing regimens. Conclusions Model simulations support current recommended weight-based dosing in children with obesity for clindamycin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, as they met target exposure despite these changes in clearance and volume of distribution.The members of "on behalf of the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act-Pediatric Trials Network Steering Committee" is present in the Acknowledgements section.

Beta-lactams, in combination with beta-lactamase inhibitors, are reported to have activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria growing in broth, as well as inside the human macrophage. We tested representative beta-lactams belonging to 3 different classes for activity against replicating M. tuberculosis in broth and nonreplicating M. tuberculosis under hypoxia, as well as against streptomycin-starved M. tuberculosis strain 18b (ss18b) in the presence or absence of clavulanate. Most of the combinations showed bactericidal activity against replicating M. tuberculosis, with up to 200-fold improvement in potency in the presence of clavulanate. None of the combinations, including those containing meropenem, imipenem, and faropenem, killed M. tuberculosis under hypoxia. However, faropenem-and meropenem-containing combinations killed strain ss18b moderately. We tested the bactericidal activities of meropenem-clavulanate and amoxicillin-clavulanate combinations in the acute and chronic aerosol infection models of tuberculosis in BALB/c mice. Based on pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic indexes reported for beta-lactams against other bacterial pathogens, a cumulative percentage of a 24-h period that the drug concentration exceeds the MIC under steady-state pharmacokinetic conditions (%T MIC ) of 20 to 40% was achieved in mice using a suitable dosing regimen. Both combinations showed marginal reduction in lung CFU compared to the late controls in the acute model, whereas both were inactive in the chronic model. Beta-lactam (BL) agents have been widely used for treating a broad spectrum of bacterial pathogens (1). However, there are very few reports on successful clinical use of beta-lactam antibiotics for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Mycobacterium tuberculosis is reported to produce a chromosomally encoded betalactamase enzyme (2, 3, 4) that degrades the beta-lactam agent, and therefore, use of BL along with a beta-lactamase inhibitor (BLI) like clavulanate is essential for killing M. tuberculosis. Many of the BL-BLI agents are reported to have a poor plasma half-life and poor oral bioavailability (1,5,6). Limitations of oral dosing and the requirement for frequent dosing for longer durations may have limited the use of BL-BLI agents for TB treatment. However, recent reports on successful treatment of patients with multidrugresistant and extremely drug-resistant (MDR/XDR) TB by including meropenem (7,8) in the second-line combination therapy have raised interest in understanding the efficacy of the meropenem-clavulanate combination in the mouse TB model (9). We have extended this interest to include understanding the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) relationship for meropenem-clavulanate and amoxicillin-clavulanate combinations in the mouse TB model. Discovery of novel anti-TB agents or therapies is essential to treat MDR/XDR TB, as well as to shorten the current 6-monthlong treatment of drug-sensitive TB. Therefore, activity against drug-resistant strains, as well as against both replicating and nonrepl...

DNA gyrase is a clinically validated target for developing drugs against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Despite the promise of fluoroquinolones (FQs) as anti-tuberculosis drugs, the prevalence of pre-existing resistance to FQs is likely to restrict their clinical value. We describe a novel class of N-linked aminopiperidinyl alkyl quinolones and naphthyridones that kills Mtb by inhibiting the DNA gyrase activity. The mechanism of inhibition of DNA gyrase was distinct from the fluoroquinolones, as shown by their ability to inhibit the growth of fluoroquinolone-resistant Mtb. Biochemical studies demonstrated this class to exert its action via single-strand cleavage rather than double-strand cleavage, as seen with fluoroquinolones. The compounds are highly bactericidal against extracellular as well as intracellular Mtb. Lead optimization resulted in the identification of potent compounds with improved oral bioavailability and reduced cardiac ion channel liability. Compounds from this series are efficacious in various murine models of tuberculosis.

A pharmacophore-based search led to the identification of thiazolopyridine ureas as a novel scaffold with antitubercular activity acting through inhibition of DNA Gyrase B (GyrB) ATPase. Evaluation of the binding mode of thiazolopyridines in a Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) GyrB homology model prompted exploration of the side chains at the thiazolopyridine ring C-5 position to access the ribose/solvent pocket. Potent compounds with GyrB IC50 ≤ 1 nM and Mtb MIC ≤ 0.1 μM were obtained with certain combinations of side chains at the C-5 position and heterocycles at the C-6 position of the thiazolopyridine core. Substitutions at C-5 also enabled optimization of the physicochemical properties. Representative compounds were cocrystallized with Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) ParE; these confirmed the binding modes predicted by the homology model. The target link to GyrB was confirmed by genetic mapping of the mutations conferring resistance to thiazolopyridine ureas. The compounds are bactericidal in vitro and efficacious in vivo in an acute murine model of tuberculosis.