Interaction of single-dose ezetimibe and steady-state cyclosporine in renal transplant patients.

Author(s): Bergman AJ, Burke J, Larson P, Johnson-Levonas AO, Reyderman L, Statkevich P, Maxwell SE, Kosoglou T, Murphy G, Gottesdiener K, Robson R, Paolini JF

Affiliation(s): Clinical Drug Metabolism, Merck Research Laboratories, WP 75-100, Sumneytown Pike, PO Box 4, West Point, PA 19486, USA.

Publication date & source: 2006-03, J Clin Pharmacol., 46(3):328-36.

Publication type: Randomized Controlled Trial

This open-label, single-period study evaluated the single-dose pharmacokinetics of ezetimibe (EZE) 10 mg in the setting of steady-state cyclosporine (CyA) dosing in renal transplant patients. A single 10-mg dose of EZE was coadministered with the morning dose of CyA (75-150 mg twice a day). Total EZE (sum of unconjugated, parent EZE and EZE-glucuronide; EZE-total) AUC(0-last) and Cmax were compared to values derived from a prespecified database of healthy volunteers. Geometric mean ratios (90% CIs) for (EZE + CyA)/EZE alone for EZE-total AUC((0-last)) and Cmax were 3.41 (2.55, 4.56) and 3.91 (3.13, 4.89), respectively. Compared to healthy controls, EZE-total AUC((0-last)) was 3.4-fold higher in transplant patients receiving CyA; similar exposure levels were seen in a prior multiple-dose study in which EZE 50 mg was administered to healthy volunteers without dose-related toxicity. Because the long-term safety implications of both higher EZE exposures and undetermined effect on CyA are not yet understood, the clinical significance of this interaction is unknown.