Pharmacokinetics of laropiprant and glucuronide metabolite in patients with severe renal insufficiency.
Flushing symptoms limit the use of niacin as an effective treatment for dyslipidemia; laropiprant, a prostaglandin D2 receptor subtype 1 antagonist, reduces niacin-induced flushing and is being developed in combination with niacin. The aims of this study were to both determine the effect of renal insufficiency on plasma pharmacokinetics of laropiprant and to assess safety and tolerability in patients with severe renal insufficiency. This open-label study compared the pharmacokinetics of a single laropiprant 40-mg dose in 8 nondialyzed, severe renal insufficiency patients (RIs) with healthy matched subjects (HSs) (24-hour creatinine clearance <30 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and >80 mL/min/1.73 m(2) for RIs and HSs, respectively). In RIs, laropiprant was well tolerated and the area under the concentration time curve (AUC(0-infinity)) was modestly higher (ratio of geometric least-squares means [GMR] for RIs to HSs was 1.58; 90% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-2.35); neither the maximum laropiprant plasma concentration (C(max)) nor the time to C(max) (T(max)) was significantly affected. The apparent terminal half-life (t(1/2)) was 26.0 and 14.8 hours for RIs and HSs, respectively (P = 0.007). Similarly, for the inactive laropiprant glucuronide metabolite, the GMR for AUC(0-infinity) was 2.17 (90% CI, 1.44-3.27), and the apparent t(1/2) values were 25.3 to 14.5 hours (P = 0.037) in RIs and HSs, respectively. Renal insufficiency had no clinically significant effect on laropiprant pharmacokinetics. Because niacin and its metabolites are excreted through the kidneys, the combination of niacin with laropiprant should be used with caution in patients with renal impairment.
Department of Clinical Drug Metabolism, Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA 19486-0004, USA. mark_stroh@merck.com
Mark
M
Stroh
Larissa
L
Wenning
Wen-Lin
WL
Luo
Rajesh
R
Desai
Sheng
S
Bi
Sara
S
Keshavarz
Nicole
N
Lazarus
Norman Martin
NM
Lunde
William B
WB
Smith
Michael
M
Schwartz
Julie
J
Stone
John
J
Wagner
Eseng
E
Lai
Victor
V
Dishy
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019540:Area Under Curve; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D020719:Glucuronides / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D011982:Receptors, Prostaglandin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D020719:Glucuronides; D007211:Indoles; C518174:MK-0524; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D011982:Receptors, Prostaglandin; D003404:Creatinine; C036293:prostaglandin D2 receptor