An Omicron-specific, self-amplifying mRNA booster vaccine for COVID-19: a phase 2/3 randomized trial.

Here we conducted a multicenter open-label, randomized phase 2 and 3 study to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron-specific (BA.1/B.1.1.529), monovalent, thermostable, self-amplifying mRNA vaccine, GEMCOVAC-OM, when administered intradermally as a booster in healthy adults who had received two doses of BBV152 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. GEMCOVAC-OM was well tolerated with no related serious adverse events in both phase 2 and phase 3. In phase 2, the safety and immunogenicity of GEMCOVAC-OM was compared with our prototype mRNA vaccine GEMCOVAC-19 (D614G variant-specific) in 140 participants. At day 29 after vaccination, there was a significant rise in anti-spike (BA.1) IgG antibodies with GEMCOVAC-OM (P < 0.0001) and GEMCOVAC-19 (P < 0.0001). However, the IgG titers (primary endpoint) and seroconversion were higher with GEMCOVAC-OM (P < 0.0001). In phase 3, GEMCOVAC-OM was compared with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in 3,140 participants (safety cohort), which included an immunogenicity cohort of 420 participants. At day 29, neutralizing antibody titers against the BA.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2 were significantly higher than baseline in the GEMCOVAC-OM arm (P < 0.0001), but not in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 arm (P = 0.1490). GEMCOVAC-OM was noninferior (primary endpoint) and superior to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in terms of neutralizing antibody titers and seroconversion rate (lower bound 95% confidence interval of least square geometric mean ratio >1 and difference in seroconversion >0% for superiority). At day 29, anti-spike IgG antibodies and seroconversion (secondary endpoints) were significantly higher with GEMCOVAC-OM (P < 0.0001). These results demonstrate that GEMCOVAC-OM is safe and boosts immune responses against the B.1.1.529 variant. Clinical Trial Registry India identifier: CTRI/2022/10/046475 .

Influence of UGT1A1 and SLC22A6 polymorphisms on the population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of raltegravir in HIV-infected adults: a NEAT001/ANRS143 sub-study.

Using concentration-time data from the NEAT001/ARNS143 study (single sample at week 4 and 24), we determined raltegravir pharmacokinetic parameters using nonlinear mixed effects modelling (NONMEM v.7.3; 602 samples from 349 patients) and investigated the influence of demographics and SNPs (SLC22A6 and UGT1A1) on raltegravir pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Demographics and SNPs did not influence raltegravir pharmacokinetics and no significant pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationships were observed. At week 96, UGT1A1*28/*28 was associated with lower virological failure (p = 0.012), even after adjusting for baseline CD4 count (p = 0.048), but not when adjusted for baseline HIV-1 viral load (p = 0.082) or both (p = 0.089). This is the first study to our knowledge to assess the influence of SNPs on raltegravir pharmacodynamics. The lack of a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship is potentially an artefact of raltegravir's characteristic high inter and intra-patient variability and also suggesting single time point sampling schedules are inadequate to thoroughly assess the influence of SNPs on raltegravir pharmacokinetics.

Population pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics of ritonavir-boosted darunavir in the presence of raltegravir or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine in HIV-infected adults and the relationship with virological response: a sub-study of the NEAT001/ANRS143 randomized trial.

OBJECTIVES: NEAT001/ANRS143 demonstrated non-inferiority of once-daily darunavir/ritonavir (800/100 mg) + twice-daily raltegravir (400 mg) versus darunavir/ritonavir + tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (245/200 mg once daily) in treatment-naive patients. We investigated the population pharmacokinetics of darunavir, ritonavir, tenofovir and emtricitabine and relationships with demographics, genetic polymorphisms and virological failure. METHODS: Non-linear mixed-effects models (NONMEM v. 7.3) were applied to determine pharmacokinetic parameters and assess demographic covariates and relationships with SNPs (SLCO3A1, SLCO1B1, NR1I2, NR1I3, CYP3A5*3, CYP3A4*22, ABCC2, ABCC10, ABCG2 and SCL47A1). The relationship between model-predicted darunavir AUC0-24 and C24 with time to virological failure was evaluated by Cox regression. RESULTS: Of 805 enrolled, 716, 720, 347 and 361 were included in the darunavir, ritonavir, tenofovir and emtricitabine models, respectively (11% female, 83% Caucasian). No significant effect of patient demographics or SNPs was observed for darunavir or tenofovir apparent oral clearance (CL/F); coadministration of raltegravir did not influence darunavir or ritonavir CL/F. Ritonavir CL/F decreased by 23% in NR1I2 63396C>T carriers and emtricitabine CL/F was linearly associated with creatinine clearance (P<0.001). No significant relationship was demonstrated between darunavir AUC0-24 or C24 and time to virological failure [HR (95% CI): 2.28 (0.53-9.80), P=0.269; and 1.82 (0.61-5.41), P=0.279, respectively]. CONCLUSIONS: Darunavir concentrations were unaltered in the presence of raltegravir and not associated with virological failure. Polymorphisms investigated had little impact on study-drug pharmacokinetics. Darunavir/ritonavir + raltegravir may be an appropriate option for patients experiencing NRTI-associated toxicity.

Inhibitory Effects of Commonly Used Excipients on P-Glycoprotein in Vitro.

Pharmaceutical excipients are no longer considered inert and have been shown to influence the activity of metabolic enzymes and transporters, resulting in altered pharmacokinetics of substrate drugs. In this study, the effect of 25 excipients commonly used in drug formulations were investigated for their effect on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) activity. The effect of excipients on P-gp were assessed by measuring the change in the cellular accumulation of a P-gp substrate, digoxin, in MDCK-MDR1 (Madin Darby canine kidney transfected with multidrug resistance 1 gene) cells. The cells were exposed to low (10 µM) and high (200 µM) concentrations of excipient along with 10 µM digoxin. Excipient concentrations were chosen to span the range of concentrations previously used for investigating activities in vitro. At 10 µM of excipient, an increase in the intracellular digoxin concentration was seen with d-α-tocopherol poly-(ethylene glycol) succinate (Vit-E-PEG; p = 0.002), poly(ethylene oxide)20 sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80; p = 0.001), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB; p = 0.021), poly(ethylene oxide)35 modified castor oil (Cremophor EL; p = 0.01), polyethylene glycol15-hydroxystearate (Solutol HS 15; p = 0.006), and poly(ethylene glycol) hexadecyl ether (Brij 58; p = 0.001). At 200 µM, Vit-E-PEG ( p < 0.0001), sodium 1,4-bis (2-ethylhexoxy)-1,4-dioxobutane-2-sulfonate (AOT; p < 0.0001), Tween 80 ( p < 0.0001), CTAB ( p = 0.004), poly(ethylene oxide)20 sorbitan monolaurate (Tween 20; p < 0.0001), Cremophor EL ( p < 0.0001), Solutol HS 15 ( p < 0.0001), Brij 58 ( p < 0.0001), and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC; p = 0.006) increased intracellular digoxin significantly. Concentration-dependent inhibition of P-gp was then investigated for selected excipients giving an IC50 for Vit-E-PEG (12.48 µM), AOT (192.5 µM), Tween 80 (45.29 µM), CTAB (96.67 µM), Tween 20 (74.15 µM), Cremophor EL (11.92 µM), Solutol HS 15 (179.8 µM), Brij 58 (25.22 µM), and NaCMC (46.69 µM). These data add to the growing body of evidence demonstrating that not all excipients are inert and will aid excipient choice for rational formulation development.

Dual-stimuli responsive injectable microgel/solid drug nanoparticle nanocomposites for release of poorly soluble drugs.

An in situ forming implant (ISFI) for drug delivery combines the potential to improve therapeutic adherence for patients with simple administration by injection. Herein, we describe the preparation of an injectable nanocomposite ISFI composed of thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) based microgels and solid drug nanoparticles. Monodisperse poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) or poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-allylamine) microgels were prepared by precipitation polymerisation with mean diameters of approximately 550 nm at 25 °C. Concentrated dispersions of these microgels displayed dual-stimuli responsive behaviour, forming shape persistent bulk aggregates in the presence of both salt (at physiological ionic strength) and at body temperature (above the lower critical solution temperature of the polymer). These dual-stimuli responsive microgels could be injected into an agarose gel tissue mimic leading to rapid aggregation of the particles to form a drug depot. Additionally, the microgel particles aggregated in the presence of other payload nanoparticles (such as dye-containing polystyrene nanoparticles or lopinavir solid drug nanoparticles) to form nanocomposites with high entrapment efficiency of the payload. The resulting microgel and solid drug nanoparticle nanocomposites displayed sustained drug release for at least 120 days, with the rate of release tuned by blending microgels of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-allylamine) microgels. Cytotoxicity studies revealed that the microgels were not toxic to MDCK-II cells even at high concentrations. Collectively, these results demonstrate a novel, easily injectable, nanocomposite ISFI that provides long-term sustained release for poorly water-soluble drugs without a burst release.

Accelerated oral nanomedicine discovery from miniaturized screening to clinical production exemplified by paediatric HIV nanotherapies.

Considerable scope exists to vary the physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles, with subsequent impact on biological interactions; however, no accelerated process to access large nanoparticle material space is currently available, hampering the development of new nanomedicines. In particular, no clinically available nanotherapies exist for HIV populations and conventional paediatric HIV medicines are poorly available; one current paediatric formulation utilizes high ethanol concentrations to solubilize lopinavir, a poorly soluble antiretroviral. Here we apply accelerated nanomedicine discovery to generate a potential aqueous paediatric HIV nanotherapy, with clinical translation and regulatory approval for human evaluation. Our rapid small-scale screening approach yields large libraries of solid drug nanoparticles (160 individual components) targeting oral dose. Screening uses 1 mg of drug compound per library member and iterative pharmacological and chemical evaluation establishes potential candidates for progression through to clinical manufacture. The wide applicability of our strategy has implications for multiple therapy development programmes.

Clinical profile of HIV infected patients attending a HIV referral clinic in Pune, India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has infected several million individuals in India. Various interventions have been implemented for early detection and prevention of transmission of HIV infection. This has progressively changed the clinical profile of HIV infected individuals and this study documents the clinical presentation of individuals positive for HIV in 2010, in Pune, Maharashtra, India. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included subjects who had come to the HIV referral clinic for HIV testing from January to December 2010. Children as well as individuals with indeterminate HIV result were excluded from the study, and data for 1546 subjects were finally analysed. RESULTS: The HIV positivity rate among all referred cases for the year 2010 was 35 per cent (male 55% and females 45%). The median age (Q1, Q3) was 31 (25.75, 39) yr. The median CD4 cell count for all HIV infected individuals (whose CD4 count was available n=345) was 241 cells/µl and for asymptomatic HIV infected individuals was 319 cells/µl. There were 673 (43.5%) symptomatic and 873 (56.5%) asymptomatic participants. Fever, breathlessness, cough with expectoration, weight loss, loss of appetite, generalized weakness, pallor and lymphadenopathy (axillary and cervical) were found to be associated (P<0.001) with HIV positivity. On multivariate analysis, history of Herpes zoster [AOR 11.314 (6.111-20.949)] and TB [AOR 11.214 (6.111-20.949)] was associated with HIV positivity. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Signs and symptoms associated with HIV positivity observed in this study can be used by health care providers to detect HIV infection early. Moreover, similar to HIV testing in patients with tuberculosis, strategies can be developed for considering Herpes zoster as a predictor of HIV infection.