Prototype trial design for rapid dose selection of antiretroviral drugs: an example using emtricitabine (Coviracil)

Antiretroviral monotherapy for initial drug characterization risks the selection of resistant virus, yet monotherapy is the only setting where many fundamental properties of a new drug can be reliably determined. Using data on viral replication kinetics and dynamics, we designed an accelerated (14 day) open-label study of single agent emtricitabine (formerly known as FTC)--a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor--to select a dosing regimen for further therapeutic study. Five regimens (25 mg bd, 100 mg od, 200 mg od, 100 mg bd and 200 mg bd) were evaluated in HIV-1-infected subjects over a 14 day dosing period to determine the optimal dose and pharmacokinetics. Serial blood samples for virological, pharmacokinetic and intracellular FTC-triphosphate measurements were drawn frequently. A dose-response relationship for the antiviral activity of emtricitabine was established, with total daily doses of 200 mg or more producing the greatest median HIV-1 viral load suppression: 1.72-1.92 log10. Based on virological outcomes, dose-response analysis and intracellular triphosphate levels, a once-daily dose of 200 mg was selected for further long-term clinical study. Adverse events possibly related to emtricitabine were unremarkable. The antiviral activity of emtricitabine correlated well with intracellular FTC-triphosphate concentrations. This study design is a safe, useful tool for early dose selection for drugs with potent antiretroviral activity and linear pharmacokinetics.

Effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy and thymic transplantation on immunoreconstitution in HIV infection

The purpose of this study was to determine whether thymic transplantation in addition to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) will restore T cell function in HIV infection. Eight treatment-naive HIV-infected patients with CD4+ T cell counts of 200-500/mm3 were randomized into thymic transplantation and control arms. All patients received HAART (zidovudine, lamivudine, and ritonavir) for 6 weeks prior to transplantation. Thymic transplantation was done without immunosuppression, using postnatal HLA-unmatched cultured allogeneic thymus tissue. Patients were immunized every 6 months with the neoantigen keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and the recall antigen tetanus toxoid (TT). T cell phenotype and function and T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (TRECs) were assessed. Thymic allografts were biopsied at 2 months. Six HIV-infected patients completed the study. Four patients received cultured allogeneic postnatal thymic grafts, two others were controls. CD4+ T cell counts increased and T cell-proliferative responses to Candida antigen and TT normalized in all patients. Proliferative responses to KLH developed in three of four transplant recipients and one of two controls. Patients responding to KLH after secondary immunization had greater TREC increases compared with the patients who did not respond. All thymic allografts were rejected within 2 months. In summary, four of six patients developed T cell-proliferative responses to the neoantigen KLH over the first 2 years of HAART. The transplanted thymus tissue, however, was rejected. There was no clear difference in restoration of T cell function in the transplant recipients compared with the controls. Increases in TRECs after initiation of HAART may correlate with improved immune function.

Pharmacokinetics of 2-fluorodideoxycytidine (2FddC) in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus

1. The aim of this study was to estimate an oral dosage regimen of 2FddC giving peak plasma drug concentrations close to the antiretroviral IC50 of 150 ng ml-1. 2. A total of 55 doses (40 intravenous infusions and 15 oral solutions) were given to 21 patients. One group (n = 6-11) received single doses of 0.01 mg kg-1 intravenously (i.v.), 0.1 mg kg-1 i.v. and 0.1 mg kg-1 orally (p.o.) in that order. The other group (n = 8-10) received single doses of 0.03 mg kg-1 i.v., 0.3 mg kg-1 i.v. and 0.3 mg kg-1 p.o. in that order. Blood and urine samples were collected up to 24 h after each dose for drug assay by h.p.l.c.-u.v. 3. The peak plasma concentrations of 2FddC were proportional to dosage across the range 0.03 to 0.3 mg kg-1. After intravenous dosing, the mean (%CV) volume of distribution was 60 (28) 1 and the mean (CV%) plasma clearance was 23 (23) 1 h-1. On average, 71% of the dose was recovered unchanged in urine and renal clearance exceeded concurrent creatinine clearance. 4. Plasma concentrations reached mean peaks of 37 and 96 ng ml-1 after oral doses of 0.1 and 0.3 mg kg-1, respectively. The mean absolute bioavailability was 50% within a 95% confidence interval of 20 to 80%. 5. The adverse events were usually mild or moderate in severity and were generally attributed to the disease rather than the drug.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)