Oseltamivir is an ethyl ester prodrug of Ro 64-0802, a selective inhibitor of influenza virus neuraminidase. Oral administration of oseltamivir delivers the active antiviral Ro 64-0802 to the bloodstream, and thus all sites of influenza infection (lung, nasal mucosa, middle ear) are accessible. The pharmacokinetic profile of oseltamivir is simple and predictable, and twice daily treatment results in effective antiviral plasma concentrations over the entire administration interval. After oral administration, oseltamivir is readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and extensively converted to the active metabolite. The absolute bioavailability of the active metabolite from orally administered oseltamivir is 80%. The active metabolite is detectable in plasma within 30 minutes and reaches maximal concentrations after 3 to 4 hours. After peak plasma concentrations are attained, the concentration of the active metabolite declines with an apparent half-life of 6 to 10 hours. Oseltamivir is eliminated primarily by conversion to and renal excretion of the active metabolite. Renal clearance of both compounds exceeds glomerular filtration rate, indicating that renal tubular secretion contributes to their elimination via the anionic pathway. Neither compound interacts with cytochrome P450 mixed-function oxidases or glucuronosyltransferases. The pharmacokinetic profile of the active metabolite is linear and dose-proportional, with less than 2-fold accumulation over a dosage range of oseltamivir 50 to 500 mg twice daily. Steady-state plasma concentrations are achieved within 3 days of twice daily administration, and at a dosage of 75mg twice daily the steady-state plasma trough concentrations of active metabolite remain above the minimum inhibitory concentration for all influenza strains tested. Exposure to the active metabolite at steady state is approximately 25% higher in elderly compared with young individuals; however, no dosage adjustment is necessary. In patients with renal impairment, metabolite clearance decreases linearly with creatinine clearance. A dosage reduction to 75mg once daily is recommended for patients with creatinine clearance <30 ml/min (1.8 L/h). The pharmacokinetics in patients with influenza are qualitatively similar to those in healthy young adults. In vitro and in vivo studies indicate no clinically significant drug interactions. Neither paracetamol (acetaminophen) nor cimetidine altered the pharmacokinetics of Ro 64-0802. Coadministration of probenecid resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in exposure to Ro 64-0802; however, this competition is unlikely to result in clinically relevant effects. These properties make oseltamivir a suitable candidate for use in the prevention and treatment of influenza.

The tolerability and pharmacokinetics of Ro 64-0802, a potent, selective inhibitor of influenza neuraminidase, and its oral prodrug oseltamivir were investigated in three double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. Two studies involved healthy adult volunteers (18-55 years) (n = 48) who received single (20-1000 mg) or bid doses (50-500 mg) (n = 32) of oseltamivir or placebo for 7 days. Healthy elderly volunteers (> or = 65 years) (n = 24) received oseltamivir 100 to 200 mg bid or placebo for 7 days in a third study. Measurable plasma concentrations of the active metabolite appeared rapidly in plasma and were significantly higher and longer lasting than those of oseltamivir. Pharmacokinetics of both compounds were linear. Multiple-dose exposure was predictable from single-dose data, and steady-state plasma concentrations were achieved within 3 days of bid drug administration. Oseltamivir was well tolerated at single doses of up to 1000 mg and twice-daily doses of up to 500 mg. Adverse events were mild in intensity. Exposure to both prodrug and active metabolite was increased in elderly patients by approximately 25%. However, due to the wide safety margin of both compounds, no dose adjustment is necessary for elderly patients.

This investigation was designed to evaluate the single-dose pharmacokinetics of itraconazole, hydroxyitraconazole, and hydroxypropyl-␤-cyclodextrin (HP-␤-CD) after intravenous administration to children at risk for fungal infection. Thirty-three children aged 7 months to 17 years received a single dose of itraconazole (2.5 mg/kg in 0.1-g/kg HP-␤-CD) administered over 1 h by intravenous infusion. Plasma samples for the determination of the analytes of interest were drawn over 120 h and analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography, and the pharmacokinetics were determined by traditional noncompartmental analysis. Consistent with the role of CYP3A4 in the biotransformation of itraconazole, a substantial degree of variability was observed in the pharmacokinetics of this drug after IV administration. The maximum plasma concentrations (C max ) for itraconazole, hydroxyitraconazole, and HP-␤-CD averaged 1,015 ؎ 692 ng/ml, 293 ؎ 133 ng/ml, and 329 ؎ 200 g/ml, respectively. The total body exposures (area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h) for itraconazole, hydroxyitraconazole, and HP-␤-CD averaged 4,922 ؎ 6,784 ng ⅐ h/ml, 3,811 ؎ 2,794 ng ⅐ h/ml, and 641.5 ؎ 265.0 g ⅐ h/ml, respectively, with no significant age dependence observed among the children evaluated. Similarly, there was no relationship between age and total body clearance (702.8 ؎ 499.4 ml/h/kg); however, weak associations between age and the itraconazole distribution volume (r 2 ‫؍‬ 0.18, P ‫؍‬ 0.02), C max (r 2 ‫؍‬ 0.14, P ‫؍‬ 0.045), and terminal elimination rate (r 2 ‫؍‬ 0.26, P < 0.01) were noted. Itraconazole infusion appeared to be well tolerated in this population with a single adverse event (stinging at the site of infusion) deemed to be related to study drug administration. Based on the findings of this investigation, it appears that intravenous itraconazole can be administered to infants beyond 6 months, children, and adolescents using a weight-normalized approach to dosing.With both traditional and emerging fungal pathogens contributing to an increasing rate of morbidity, invasive mycoses remain a serious and potentially fatal complication for immunocompromised children (1,16,23,26,27,31). In recent years, a growing number of new therapeutic agents have found their way to market (28). However, the management of systemic fungal infections is still restricted to a relatively small number of drug classes encompassing a limited number of pharmacologic actions (i.e., most are cell wall-acting agents). As such, the spectrum of activity and established efficacy, in combination with the pharmacokinetic and toxicity profiles of each agent, will shape their role in therapy.Itraconazole is a first-generation synthetic triazole antifungal that has been in clinical use for nearly two decades. Although fungistatic against pathogenic yeast, itraconazole retains activity against a portion of fluconazole-resistant isolates and demonstrates fungicidal activity against a number of filamentous organisms that cause severe invasive disease (25). Compa...

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Placebo and pharmacodynamic (PD) models were developed which link temporal measures of efficacy in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and methylphenidate (MPH) plasma concentrations from adults. These models can be used to predict daily pediatric clinical measure profiles following administration of different MPH formulations in children without conducting pediatric pharmacokinetic (PK) or PD studies by using more easily obtained adult PK data. Mean PK data from various extended-release MPH formulations studied in adults and mean PD data from nine pediatric efficacy studies were obtained from the literature. The individual time-course of the clinical measures from three pediatric trials were also analyzed after being combined with the meta-analysis data. The clinical measure profiles following placebo administration were described by indirect response models with time-varying elimination rates. MPH pharmacodynamic effect was described by E(max) models, which included time-dependent tolerance. Internal and external evaluations using a visual predictive check technique confirmed the prediction capability of the models. This modeling exercise demonstrated that time courses of MPH concentrations in adults with different drug release patterns can be used to predict time courses of clinical efficacy parameters in pediatrics by employing the models developed by meta-analysis.