title: Steady-state pharmacokinetics of a double-boosting regimen of saquinavir soft gel plus lopinavir plus minidose ritonavir in human immunodeficiency virus-infected adults.
abstract: Management of treatment-experienced human immunodeficiency virus patients has become complex, and therapy may need to include two protease inhibitors at therapeutic doses. The objective of this study was to characterize the pharmacokinetics in serum of saquinavir (1,000 mg twice daily [b.i.d.]), lopinavir (400 mg b.i.d.), and ritonavir (100 mg b.i.d.) in a multidrug rescue therapy study and to investigate whether steady-state pharmacokinetics of lopinavir-ritonavir are affected by coadministration of saquinavir. Forty patients were included (25 given ritonavir, lopinavir, and saquinavir and 15 given ritonavir and lopinavir). The median pharmacokinetic parameters of lopinavir were as follows: area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 12 h (AUC(0-12)), 85.1 microg/ml . h; maximum concentration of drug in serum (C(max)), 10.0 microg/ml; trough concentration of drug in serum (C(trough)), 7.3 microg/ml; and minimum concentration of drug in serum (C(min)), 5.5 microg/ml. Lopinavir concentrations were similar in patients with and without saquinavir. The median pharmacokinetic parameters for saquinavir were as follows: AUC(0-12), 22.9 microg/ml . h; C(max), 2.9 microg/ml; C(trough), 1.6 microg/ml; and C(min), 1.4 microg/ml. There was a strong linear correlation between lopinavir and ritonavir and between saquinavir and ritonavir concentrations in plasma. The correlation between lopinavir and saquinavir levels was weaker. We found higher saquinavir concentrations in women than in men, with no difference in lopinavir levels. Only patients with very high body weight presented lopinavir and saquinavir concentrations lower than the overall group. Ritonavir has a double-boosting function for both lopinavir and saquinavir, and in terms of pharmacokinetics, the drug doses selected seemed appropriate for combining these agents in a dual protease inhibitor-based antiretroviral regimen for patients with several prior virologic failures.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Paseo Vall Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain. eribera@vhebron.net
authors.forename: Esteban
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ribera
authors.forename: Rosa M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Marjorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Leonor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pou
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Vicenç
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Falcó
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crespo
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Azuaje
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Imma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ocaña
authors.forename: Bonaventura
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Clotet
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pahissa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002214:Capsules; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005079:Excipients; D005260:Female; D005780:Gelatin; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D061466:Lopinavir; D008297:Male; D011744:Pyrimidinones / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019438:Ritonavir / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019258:Saquinavir / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D017211:Treatment Failure; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D002214:Capsules; D005079:Excipients; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors; D011744:Pyrimidinones; D061466:Lopinavir; D005780:Gelatin; D019258:Saquinavir; D019438:Ritonavir