Application of patient population-derived pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships to tigecycline breakpoint determination for staphylococci and streptococci.

Correctly determined susceptibility breakpoints are important to both the individual patient and to society at large. A previously derived patient population pharmacokinetic model and Monte Carlo simulation (9999 patients) were used to create a likelihood distribution of tigecycline exposure, as measured by the area under the concentration-time curve at 24 h (AUC(24)). Each resultant AUC(24) value was paired with a clinically relevant fixed MIC value ranging from 0.12 to 2 mg/L. For each AUC(24)-MIC pair, the probability of microbiologic response was calculated using an exposure-response relationship, which was derived from patients with complicated skin and skin structure infections that involved Staphylococcus aureus or streptococci or both. The median probability of microbiologic success was 94% or greater for MIC values up to and including 0.25 mg/L. The median probability of microbiologic success was 66% or less for MIC values of 0.5 mg/L or greater. These data support a susceptibility breakpoint of 0.25 mg/L for S. aureus and streptococci.

Use of a clinically derived exposure-response relationship to evaluate potential tigecycline-Enterobacteriaceae susceptibility breakpoints.

Potential tigecycline-Enterobacteriaceae susceptibility breakpoints were evaluated using 2 approaches, which differed in the nature of the probabilities assessed by MIC value. Using a previously derived tigecycline population pharmacokinetic model and Monte Carlo simulation, a probability density function of steady-state area under the concentration-time curve for 24 h (AUC(SS(0-24))) values for 9999 patients was generated. AUC(SS(0-24)) values were divided by clinically relevant fixed MIC values to derive AUC(SS(0-24))/MIC ratios, which were used to calculate the clinical response expectation by MIC value based upon a logistic regression model for efficacy (1st approach). For the 2nd approach, the probability of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) target attainment was calculated as the proportion of patients with AUC(SS(0-24))/MIC ratios greater than the threshold value of 6.96, the PK-PD target associated with optimal clinical response. Probabilities of clinical response and PK-PD target attainment were poorly correlated at MIC values >0.25 mg/L. For instance, the median probability of clinical success was 0.76, whereas the probability of PK-PD target attainment was 0.27 at an MIC value of 1 mg/L, suggesting that the probability of PK-PD target attainment metrics underestimates the clinical performance of tigecycline at higher MIC values.

Use of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic target attainment analyses to support phase 2 and 3 dosing strategies for doripenem.

A doripenem population pharmacokinetic model and Monte Carlo simulations were utilized for dose regimen decision support for future clinical development. Simulation results predict that 500 mg of doripenem administered over 1 h every 8 h would be effective against bacterial strains with MICs less than 2 microg/ml and that less susceptible strains could be treated with prolonged infusions.

Challenges in the transition to model-based development.

Practitioners of the art and science of pharmacometrics are well aware of the considerable effort required to successfully complete modeling and simulation activities for drug development programs. This is particularly true because of the current, ad hoc implementation wherein modeling and simulation activities are piggybacked onto traditional development programs. This effort, coupled with the failure to explicitly design development programs around modeling and simulation, will continue to be an important obstacle to the successful transition to model-based drug development. Challenges with timely data availability, high data discard rates, delays in completing modeling and simulation activities, and resistance of development teams to the use of modeling and simulation in decision making are all symptoms of an immature process capability for performing modeling and simulation. A process that will fulfill the promise of model-based development will require the development and deployment of three critical elements. The first is the infrastructure--the data definitions and assembly processes that will allow efficient pooling of data across trials and development programs. The second is the process itself--developing guidelines for deciding when and where modeling and simulation should be applied and the criteria for assessing performance and impact. The third element concerns the organization and culture--the establishment of truly integrated, multidisciplinary, and multiorganizational development teams trained in the use of modeling and simulation in decision-making. Creating these capabilities, infrastructure, and incentivizations are critical to realizing the full value of modeling and simulation in drug development.

Gatifloxacin and the elderly: pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic rationale for a potential age-related dose reduction.

OBJECTIVES: Recently, anecdotal reports via the FDA's MedWatch reporting system have documented rare but serious hyperglycaemia in elderly patients receiving gatifloxacin. One possible factor contributing to these events may be gatifloxacin overexposure, resulting from age-related decreases in renal function in elderly patients predisposed to glycaemic alterations. These analyses examine gatifloxacin exposure in 10 patients with severe hyperglycaemia, provide a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) rationale for a potential age-related dose reduction to avoid high exposures, and evaluate the likely impact of such a dose reduction on clinical efficacy in this specific patient population. METHODS: First, a previously derived population pharmacokinetic model, with patient demographics, was used to estimate gatifloxacin AUC0-24 following a dosage regimen of 400 mg/24 h in 10 index patients with severe hyperglycaemia. Second, the population pharmacokinetic model and patient demographic data from 2696 patients aged > or =65 years from two New Drug Application (NDA) databases were used to estimate AUC0-24 following dosage regimens for gatifloxacin of 200 and 400 mg/24 h. Finally, Monte Carlo simulation was utilized to assess the probability of achieving PK-PD target exposures against Streptococcus pneumoniae in elderly patients using these regimens. RESULTS: The mean estimated AUC0-24 among severe hyperglycaemia cases was 74 mg.h/L (range 57-100). Gatifloxacin AUC0-24 exposures for the 400 mg regimen were predicted to be higher in patients aged > or =65 years and similar to the severe hyperglycaemia cases. The probability of AUC0-24 > or =60 and > or =70 in patients aged > or =65 years for the 200 mg regimen was 0.03 and <0.01, respectively, versus 0.51 and 0.35 for the 400 mg regimen, respectively. The probability of achieving PK-PD target exposures against S. pneumoniae in patients aged > or =65 years receiving the 200 mg regimen was 0.99. CONCLUSIONS: The probability of a patient aged > or =65 years having an AUC0-24 > or =60-70 mg.h/L is markedly lower following a 200 mg regimen relative to a 400 mg regimen, suggesting a decreased risk of severe hyperglycaemia in a predisposed patient. Moreover, a dose reduction does not appear to significantly modify the likelihood of achieving the PK-PD target of gatifloxacin against S. pneumoniae.