Rationale: To determine the dosage requirements and pharmacokinetics of atevirdine, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor and its N-dealkylated metabolite (N-ATV) during phase I studies in patients receiving atevirdine alone or in combination with zidovudine.
Design: Two open label, phase I studies conducted by the adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) in which atevirdine was administered every 8 h with weekly dosage adjustments to attain targeted trough plasma atevirdine concentrations.
Setting: Five Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Units.
Patients: Fifty patients (ACTG 199; n = 20 and ACTG 187; n = 30) with HIV-1 infection and < or =500 CD4+ lymphocytes/mm3.
Intervention: ACTG 199; 12 weeks of therapy with atevirdine (dose-adjusted to achieve plasma trough atevirdine concentrations of 5-10 microM) and zidovudine (200 mg every 8 h). ACTG 187: 12 weeks of atevirdine monotherapy with atevirdine doses adjusted to achieve escalating, targeted trough plasma concentration ranges (5-13, 14-22, and 23-31 microM).
Measurements: ACTG 199: atevirdine, N-ATV and zidovudine trough determinations weekly (all patients) and intensive pharmacokinetics (selected patients) prior to and at 6 and 12 weeks during combination therapy. ACTG 187: atevirdine and N-ATV trough concentrations over a 12 week period. Intensive pharmacokinetic studies were conducted prior to and at 4 and/or 8 weeks during atevirdine monotherapy in female patients.
Results: Atevirdine plasma concentrations demonstrated considerable interpatient variability which was minimized by the adjustment of maintenance doses (range: 600-3900 mg/day) to achieve the desired trough concentrations. In ACTG 187, the mean number of weeks to attain the target value, and the percentage of patients who attained the target, was group I (5-11 microM): 2.7+/-2.4 weeks (92%); group II (12-21 microM): 2.6+/-1.8 (64%); and group III (22-31 microM): 7.0+/-5.6 weeks (27%). In ACTG 199 it was 3.2+/-5.2 weeks (95%) to achieve a 5-10 microM trough. Atevirdine demonstrated a mono- or bi-exponential decline among most of the patients studied after the first dose. During multiple-dosing a number of patterns of atevirdine disposition were observed including; rapid absorption with Cmax at 0.5-1 h, delayed absorption with Cmax at 3-4 h; minimal Cmax to Cmin fluctuation and Cmax to Cmin ratios of > 4. N-ATV (an inactive metabolite) patterns were characterized on day one by rapid appearance of the metabolite which peaked at 2-3 h after the dose and declined in a mono- or bi-exponential manner. At steady-state N-ATV patterns demonstrated minimal Cmax to Cmin fluctuations with some of the patients having more stable plasma N-ATV concentrations, while others had greater fluctuations week to week.
Conclusions: Considerable interpatient variability was noted in the pharmacokinetics of atevirdine. The variation in drug disposition was reflected in the range of daily doses required to attain the targeted trough concentrations. Atevirdine metabolism did not appear to reach saturation during chronic dosing in many of our patients, as reflected by the pattern of N-ATV/ATV ratios in plasma and saturation was not an explanation for the variation in dosing requirements. No apparent differences were noted between males and females, and atevirdine did not appear to influence zidovudine disposition.