An effect of moderate hepatic impairment on the pharmacokinetics and safety of darapladib

Aim/Methods This was a phase 1, open label, non‐randomized study designed to assess the pharmacokinetics and safety/tolerability of 10 consecutive once daily 40 mg oral doses of darapladib in subjects with moderate hepatic impairment ( n = 12) compared with matched healthy volunteers ( n = 12). Results For total darapladib, a small increase in total and peak exposure was observed in the subjects with moderate hepatic impairment compared with the subjects with normal hepatic function. The area under the plasma concentration−time curve during a dosing interval of duration τ ( AUC (0,τ), geometric mean 223 ng ml −1  h [90% CI 158, 316 ng ml −1  h], in moderate hepatic impaired subjects, vs . geometric mean 186 ng ml −1  h [90% CI 159, 217 ng ml −1  h], in healthy subjects) and maximum concentration ( C max ) were 20% and 7% higher, respectively, in the subjects with moderate hepatic impairment than in the healthy control subjects and there was no change in time to maximum concentration ( t max ). Protein binding was performed to measure the amount of unbound drug vs. bound. Steady‐state was achieved by day 10 for darapladib and its metabolites ( M4 , M3 and M10 ). Darapladib was generally well tolerated, with adverse events ( AE s) reported by seven subjects in the hepatic impairment group and three subjects in the healthy matched group (five and one of which were drug‐related AE s, respectively). The most common AE s were gastrointestinal. These AE s were mostly mild to moderate and there were no deaths, serious AE s or withdrawals due to AE s. Conclusions The results of this phase 1 study show that darapladib (40 mg) is well tolerated and its pharmacokinetics remain relatively unchanged in patients with moderate hepatic impairment.