Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Glucarpidase Rescue Treatment After High-dose Methotrexate Therapy Based on Modeling and Simulation.

BACKGROUND: Model-informed approaches are important in drug development, including for dose optimization and the collection of evidence in support of efficacy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed a modified Michaelis-Menten pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics model and used it to conduct simulations of glucarpidase at doses between 10 and 80 U/kg rescue treatment after high-dose methotrexate therapy. We carried out a dose-finding modeling and simulation study before a phase II study of glucarpidase. Monte-Carlo simulations were conducted using the deSolve package of R software (version 4.1.2). The proportion of samples in which the plasma methotrexate concentration was less than 0.1 and 1.0 µmol/l at 70 and 120 h after methotrexate treatment was evaluated for each dosage of glucarpidase. RESULTS: The proportion of samples in which the plasma methotrexate concentration was less than 0.1 µmol/l at 70 h after methotrexate treatment was 71.8% and 89.6% at 20 and 50 U/kg of glucarpidase, respectively. The proportion of samples in which the plasma methotrexate concentration was less than 0.1 µmol/l at 120 h after methotrexate treatment was 46.4% and 59.0% at 20 and 50 U/kg of glucarpidase, respectively. CONCLUSION: We determined a recommended glucarpidase dose of 50 U/kg to be ethically acceptable. A rebound in the serum concentration of methotrexate may be observed in many patients after the administration of glucarpidase, and long-term monitoring (over 144 h) of the serum methotrexate concentration may be needed after the administration of glucarpidase. Its validity was confirmed in the phase II study and glucarpidase was approved for manufacturing in Japan.

Development of a population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics model of glucarpidase rescue treatment after high-dose methotrexate therapy.

Introduction: Glucarpidase (CPG2) reduces the lethal toxicity of methotrexate (MTX) by rapid degradation. Methods: In this study, a CPG2 population pharmacokinetics (popPK) analysis in healthy volunteers (phase 1 study) and a popPK-pharmacodynamics (popPK-PD) analysis in patients (phase 2 study, n = 15) who received 50 U/kg of CPG2 rescue for delayed MTX excretion were conducted. In the phase 2 study, the first CPG2 treatment at a dose of 50 U/kg was intravenously administered for 5 min within 12 h after the first confirmation of delayed MTX excretion. The second dose of CPG2, with a plasma MTX concentration >1 µmol/L, was administered to the patient more than 46 h after the start of CPG2 administration. Results: The population mean PK parameters (95% CI) of MTX, obtained from the final model post hoc, were estimated as follows: CLrMTX = 2.424 L/h (95% CI: 1.755-3.093), VcMTX = 12.6 L (95% CI: 10.8-14.3), VpMTX = 2.15 L (95% CI: 1.60-2.70), and α = 8.131 x 105 (4.864 x 105-11.398 x 105). The final model, including covariates, was CLrMTX (L/h): 3.248 x Body Weight/Serum creatinine/60 (CV 33.5%), VcMTX (L): 0.386 x Body Weight/body surface area (CV 29.1%), VpMTX (L):3.052 x Body Weight/60 (CV 90.6%), and α (L/h): 6.545 x 105 (CV 79.8%). Discussion: These results suggest that the pre-CPG2 dose and 24 h after CPG2 dosing were the most important sampling points in the Bayesian estimation of plasma MTX concentration prediction at 48 h. These CPG2-MTX popPK analysis and Bayesian estimation of rebound in plasma MTX concentrations are clinically important to estimate >1.0 µmol/L 48 h after the first CPG2 dosing. Clinical trial registration: https://dbcentre3.jmacct.med.or.jp/JMACTR/App/JMACTRS06/JMACTRS06.aspx?seqno=2363, identifier JMA-IIA00078 and https://dbcentre3.jmacct.med.or.jp/JMACTR/App/JMACTRS06/JMACTRS06.aspx?seqno=2782, identifier JMA-IIA00097.

A Dose-Confirmation Phase 1 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Pharmacology of Glucarpidase in Healthy Volunteers.

Glucarpidase rapidly decomposes methotrexate. A phase 1 study of glucarpidase in an open-label, randomized parallel group was conducted to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and other pharmacologic effects in Japanese healthy volunteers without methotrexate treatment. A dose of 50 U/kg (n = 8) or 20 U/kg (n = 8) of glucarpidase was administered as an intravenous injection, with 1 repeated dose at 48 hours after the first dose. No dose-limiting toxicities, no significant clinical examination findings, and no clinically relevant differences between dose levels were observed. The pharmacokinetic parameters at a first dose of 20 or 50 U/kg were similar to those at a second dose and were as follows: half-life, 7.45 and 7.25 hours; area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time 0 to infinity, 8.25 and 19.05 µg·h/mL; total clearance, 4.85 and 5.47 mL/min; and volume of distribution during the elimination phase, 3.12 and 3.41 L, respectively. The area under the plasma concentration-time curve increased in a generally linear dose-proportional manner. An ethnicity specificity in the pharmacokinetic profile was not observed in Japanese volunteers. The serum folate concentration decreased after glucarpidase administration in all the volunteers. The production of anti-glucarpidase antibody was observed in many cases in both cohorts. Although the long-term effect of anti-glucarpidase antibody will need to be investigated in the future, the effects produced by the anti-glucarpidase antibody were not influenced by the pharmacokinetics of glucarpidase within 96 hours after the first dose. The observed safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics support the continued evaluation of glucarpidase in the patients with lethal methotrexate toxicities.

A retrospective study on the risk factors for bleeding events in warfarin therapy, focusing on renal function.

PURPOSE: The anticoagulant effect of warfarin used to treat stroke has been shown to vary with the concomitant use of medications and comorbidity. Concomitant use of antithrombotic drugs and underlying chronic kidney disease (CKD) represent risk factors for bleeding events. We conducted a comprehensive investigation of the background characteristics and concomitant use of drugs to identify the risk factors for warfarin-related bleeding, focusing on renal function. METHODS: The study population consisted of patients prescribed warfarin at the Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital. A retrospective review of the patient data, including bleeding events, bleeding sites, the patient's background, concomitant use of drugs, and laboratory data was carried out, and the incidence of bleeding events was compared in patient groups stratified according to CKD stage and antithrombotic drug use. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the risk factors for warfarin-related bleeding. RESULTS: Of the 3,831 patients included in the study, the incidence of warfarin-related bleeding was 3.0 events per 100 patient-years. The multivariate logistic regression analysis identified age > 65 years, body mass index (BMI), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <30 mL/min/1.73 m2, prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR), and concomitant use of antithrombotic drugs as risk factors for warfarin-related bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: The present analyses identified age > 65 years, BMI, ALT, eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m2, PT-INR, and concomitant use of antithrombotic drugs as independent risk factors for warfarin-related bleeding. We should pay attention to the risk factors associated with warfarin-related bleeding when prescribing warfarin in patients with renal impairment.