Pharmacokinetics of fluticasone propionate multidose, inhalation-driven, novel, dry powder inhaler versus a prevailing dry powder inhaler and a metered-dose inhaler.

BACKGROUND

A novel inhalation-driven multidose dry powder inhaler (MDPI) that eliminates the need for the patient to coordinate device actuation with inhalation has been developed for delivery of inhaled asthma medications.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the pharmacokinetics of single-dose fluticasone propionate (Fp) MDPI compared with single doses of Fp dry powder inhaler (DPI) and a metered-dose inhaler (MDI) in healthy subjects.

METHODS

This was a single-center, open-label, randomized, three-period crossover, single-dose pilot study in healthy adults ages 18 to 45 years. Eligible subjects (N = 18) were randomized to one of six treatment sequences that contained three treatment arms: Fp MDPI 400 μg/inhalation × two inhalations (800 μg total dose); Fp DPI 250 μg/inhalation × four (1000 μg total dose); and Fp MDI 220 μg/inhalation × four (880 μg total dose). Pharmacokinetics (area under concentration-versus-time curve [AUC], maximum plasma concentration [Cmax], time to Cmax [tmax], and elimination half-life [t½]), safety, and tolerability were assessed for each treatment.

RESULTS

Plasma Fp concentration-versus-time curves were comparable across treatments. Geometric mean AUC0-t and Cmax for Fp MDPI 800 μg were 19% and 18% higher, respectively, compared with Fp DPI 1000 μg, and 47% and 82% higher, respectively, compared with Fp MDI 880 μg. Median tmax (60.0-60.6 minutes) and median t1/2 (9.1-9.8 hours) were comparable across the three treatments. Single-dose Fp was well tolerated, with no new safety issues noted.

CONCLUSION

Single-dose administration of Fp MDPI 800 μg produced systemic exposure comparable with those for Fp DPI 1000 μg and Fp MDI 880 μg.