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Influence of Cola on the Absorption of the HCV Agent Velpatasvir in Combination With PPI Omeprazole.

NCT03513393 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 11

Last updated 2020-10-19

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Epclusa® is a pan-genotypic, once-daily tablet for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection containing the NS5B- polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir (SOF, nucleotide analogue) 400 mg and the NS5A inhibitor velpatasvir (VEL) 100 mg.

Velpatasvir has pH dependent absorption. At higher pH the solubility of velpatasvir decreases. It has been shown that in subjects treated with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) such as omeprazole, the absorption of velpatasvir is reduced by 26-56%, depending on the dose of omeprazole, concomitant food intake, and timing/sequence of velpatasvir vs. omeprazole intake. As a result, concomitant intake of PPIs with velpatasvir is not recommended.

For a number of reasons, the prohibition of PPI use with velpatasvir is a clinically relevant problem. First, PPI use is highly frequent in the HCV-infected subject population with prevalences reported up to 40%. Second, PPIs are available as over-the-counter medications and thus can be used by subjects without informing their physician. Third, although HCV therapy is generally well tolerated, gastro-intestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain and nausea are frequently reported, which my lead to PPI use.

One solution of this problem could be the use of other acid-reducing agents such as H2-receptor antagonists or antacids. In general, they have a less pronounced effect on intragastric pH, and are considered less effective than PPIs by many patients and physicians.

A second solution would be the choice of another HCV agent or combination that is not dependent on low gastric pH for its absorption such as daclatasvir. Daclatasvir, however, is not a pan-genotypic HCV agent and may be less effective against GT 2 and 3 infections than velpatasvir. Second, not all subjects have access to daclatasvir, depending on health insurance company or region where they live.

A third solution, and the focus of this COPA study, is to add a glass of the acidic beverage cola at the time of velpatasvir administration in subjects concurrently treated with PPIs. This intervention has been shown to be effective for a number of drugs from other therapeutic classes who all have in common a reduced solubility (and thus reduced absorption) at higher intragastric pH, namely erlotinib, itraconazole, ketoconazole.

The advantages of this approach are: (1) only a temporary decrease in gastric pH at the time of cola intake; the rest of the day the PPI will have its therapeutic effect (2) cola is available worldwide (3) the administration of cola can be done irrespective to the timing of PPI use.

Conditions

  • Hepatitis C
  • Swallowing Disorder

Interventions

DRUG

velpatasvir

Test 1

DRUG

velpatasvir

Test 2

DRUG

velpatasvir

Reference

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Radboud University Medical Center

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
55 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2018-08-01
Primary Completion
2018-12-01
Completion
2018-12-01

Countries

  • Netherlands

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03513393 on ClinicalTrials.gov