Population Pharmacokinetic Model to Assess the Impact of Disease State on Thalidomide Pharmacokinetics.

A population pharmacokinetic (PPK) model to describe the pharmacokinetics of thalidomide in different patient populations was developed using data pooled from healthy subjects and patients with Hansen's disease, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and multiple myeloma (MM). The analysis data set had a total of 164 evaluable subjects who received various doses (50 to 400 mg) of oral thalidomide in single- and/or multiple-dose regimens. The plasma thalidomide concentrations were adequately described by a linear 1-compartment PPK model with first-order absorption and first-order elimination. Inclusion of MM as a covariate on apparent clearance (CL/F) accounted for 4.4% of the interindividual variability (IIV) of CL/F. Body weight as a covariate on CL/F and apparent volume of distribution (V/F) also improved model fitting slightly, accounting for 7.2% and 20% of IIV, respectively. Although inclusion of body weight and MM as covariates of CL/F and body weight on V/F improved the goodness of fit of the model in a statistically significant manner, the impact of this difference in CL/F is not considered clinically relevant. Other factors such as age, sex, race, creatinine clearance, and alanine transaminase had no effect on thalidomide pharmacokinetics. MM, HIV, and Hansen's disease have no clinically relevant effect on thalidomide disposition relative to healthy volunteers.

Population Pharmacokinetics of Lenalidomide in Healthy Volunteers and Patients With Hematologic Malignancies.

A population pharmacokinetic (PopPK) model of lenalidomide was developed using data pooled from 13 clinical studies (dose range, 5-400 mg) in participants who were considered to have adequate capability for renal excretion of lenalidomide (creatinine clearance [CrCl] > 50 mL/min). The analysis population included 305 healthy volunteers and 83 patients with multiple myeloma or myelodysplastic syndromes. A 1-compartment model with linear absorption and elimination described well the observed data for both healthy volunteers and patients. Covariate analysis suggested lenalidomide apparent clearance was positively correlated with CrCl, and lenalidomide volume of distribution was positively correlated with body weight. Both pharmacokinetic parameters were reduced by 29% in patients, independent of the effect of CrCl or body weight. Despite their statistical significance, effects of study population and body weight are considered clinically unimportant in adult patients with CrCl > 50 mL. After accounting for the above effects, body weight had no significant effect on CL/F, whereas age, sex, race, and mild hepatic impairment had no significant effect on either lenalidomide parameter. The PopPK model should be useful for future modeling of lenalidomide pharmacokinetics in the pediatric population and for further comparison of pharmacokinetic properties among structurally similar immunomodulatory drugs.