Steady‐State Pharmacokinetics of Etravirine and Lopinavir/Ritonavir Melt Extrusion Formulation, Alone and in Combination, in Healthy HIV‐Negative Volunteers

Abstract Background A previous study investigating coadministration of etravirine, a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, and lopinavir/ritonavir soft‐gel formulation resulted in nonclinically relevant changes in etravirine and lopinavir exposure. The current study evaluated the pharmacokinetic interaction between etravirine and the lopinavir/ritonavir melt extrusion formulation. Method Sixteen human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐negative volunteers were randomized to either treatment sequence A/B or B/A, with 14 days— washout between treatments (treatment A: etravirine 200 mg bid for 8 days; treatment B: lopinavir/ritonavir 400/100 mg bid for 16 days with etravirine 200 mg bid on days 9‐16). Steady‐state pharmacokinetics were assessed for all antiretrovirals alone and coadministered; pharmacokinetic parameters were obtained by noncompartmental analysis. Safety and tolerability were assessed. Results Coadministration of etravirine and lopinavir/ritonavir resulted in a 35% decrease in etravirine exposure. Smaller decreases (<13%) were observed in lopinavir and ritonavir exposure. Six volunteers reported headache; 1 grade 3 triglyceride increase was reported. Conclusion Lopinavir/ritonavir induced etravirine metabolism to a similar extent as most other boosted HIV protease inhibitors. The short‐term coadministration of etravirine and lopinavir/ritonavir was well tolerated and did not lead to increased incidences of adverse events.