The pharmacokinetics of an orally administered valine ester of ganciclovir (GCV), valganciclovir (VGC), were studied. These were compared to the pharmacokinetics of oral and intravenous GCV.

No abstract

The large effect of ritonavir on the pharmacokinetics of saquinavir is consistent with a large reduction of saquinavir first-pass metabolism and postabsorptive clearance. Given the limited bioavailability of saquinavir given in the hard gelatin capsule formulation, this drug interaction is expected to have implications in the use of protease inhibitors in the management of human immunodeficiency virus infection.

These results show that once daily oral valganciclovir can produce exposures of ganciclovir (AUC24) exceeding those attained using intravenous ganciclovir 10 mg/kg. This suggests that oral valganciclovir may be suitable in many circumstances currently requiring intravenous ganciclovir, allowing for more convenience in the management of patients with CMV retinitis by utilising a 2 or 4 tablet daily regimen to cover all phases of treatment.