Pharmacokinetic profile of edaravone: a comparison between Japanese and Caucasian populations.

BACKGROUND: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affects persons of all races, and there continues to be a need for effective therapies to treat the disease.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the pharmacokinetics (PK) of edaravone between Japanese and Caucasian populations.

METHODS: Data from five PK studies among Japanese and Caucasian healthy volunteers were pooled and evaluated. In population PK (PPK) modelling, compartment models and other models with linear elimination were evaluated for appropriateness. Covariate effects by race, sex, weight, and age were investigated to explain variability in PK parameters. Simulations of the final PPK model were performed using a virtual population based on ALS clinical trials.

RESULTS: The analysis included 86 subjects. A three-compartment model with Michaelis-Menten plus linear elimination was selected as the best fit model. Race was statistically detected as a covariate for the second peripheral volume of distribution (V2), indicating a 26% increase for Caucasian subjects compared to Japanese subjects. However, based on simulation of PPK model for a virtual ALS population, the small difference of V2 was associated with a difference of Ctau around 1 ng/mL after infusion, which was minimal compared to Cmax of approximately 1000 ng/ml.

CONCLUSION: The PPK analyses demonstrated no clinically relevant difference in the PK profiles of edaravone by race, sex, weight, or age.