Renal impairment can affect the elimination of hepatically metabolized drugs. Bexarotene (BXT) used for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is highly bound in plasma and metabolized by CYP3A4. The BXT European Medicine Agency and Food and Drug Administration packages recommended the evaluation of renal impairment on BXT metabolism. The plasma protein binding of BXT can be changed in patients with renal dysfunction due to hypoalbuminemia and accumulation of uremic toxins. In vitro, microsomal stability and plasma protein binding studies were pursued. A preclinical pharmacokinetic study was pursued in control, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and acute kidney injury (AKI) rats. A BXT physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model that utilized in vitro-in vivo extrapolation of metabolism was established and verified in healthy rats, customized to CKD and AKI rats, and extrapolated to healthy human subjects and those with CKD stages 3, 4, and 5. In vitro studies showed that AKI and CKD significantly increased the BXT fraction unbound in plasma (from 0.011 to 0.018 and 0.022, respectively) and decreased intrinsic clearance (from 4.1 to 2.5, and 2.2 mL/min/g liver, respectively). This could explain the reduced in vivo clearance observed in CKD rats (from 0.4 to 0.28 L/h/kg) and the 1.3-fold increase in BXT exposure. Changes in BXT disposition in AKI rats were not straightforward due to simultaneous changes in BXT distribution. The human PBPK model predicted an increased BXT exposure by 2-fold in CKD patients, suggesting the need for dose reduction and drug monitoring. The reduced BXT metabolism due to renal impairment is especially relevant in cancer patients with CKD. K E Y W O R D S acute kidney injury, bexarotene metabolism, chronic kidney disease, physiologically based pharmacokinetics, uremic toxins 1 | INTRODUCTION Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a skin cancer known for the growth of malignant T lymphocytes in the skin that has gained an increased incidence in the past 5 decades (Zhang et al., 2002).Bexarotene (BXT) sold as Targretin® in capsules (Eisai Inc.) shows an auspicious inhibitory effect against CTCL in patients whose cancer is resistant to other CTCL therapy (Wong, 2001;Zhang et al., 2002) in addition to activity against other cancer types ( Shen et al., 2018).