Pharmacokinetic Study of Raltegravir in Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Hepatitis C Virus (HIV/VHC) Coinfected Patients With Advanced (Child-Pugh C) Hepatic Cirrhosis

Raltegravir is the first integrase inhibitor used in humans. It has been shown to be highly efficacious and well tolerated in phase III clinical trials in multidrug experienced human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)-infected patients, as well as initial therapy in untreated patients. Pharmacokinetic studies in healthy adult subjects indicate that the major mechanism of clearance of the drug is glucuronidation mediated by UGT1A1, with a minor contribution of renal excretion of unchanged parent compound. Unlike CYP-based metabolism, glucuronidation is generally found to be relatively unaffected by hepatic disease. A single dose pharmacokinetic study of raltegravir in patients with mild to moderate hepatic insufficiency (Steigbigel et al. 2008) found no clinically important effect on the drug pharmacokinetic profile, with no dosage adjustment being necessary. The liver safety and tolerability of boosted atazanavir (ATV/r) has been evaluated in human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus (HIV/HCV) coinfected patients with advanced liver disease (decompensated cirrhosis) (Hermida JM et al. 4th IAS: Sidney, 2007). Similar to Raltegravir, ATV is also mainly metabolized by conjugation through UGT1A1. There is an urgent need for potent and efficacious ARV drugs with a clean safety liver profile even in patients with severe liver disease. The investigators hypothesized that pharmacokinetics will not be altered in HIV/HCV patients with advanced (Child-Pugh grade C) cirrhosis or in those with no histologic liver damage.