Population Pharmacokinetics of Mycophenolic Acid in Renal Transplant Patients: A Comparison of the Early and Stable Posttransplant Stages

Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is an antimetabolic immunosuppressive drug widely used in solid organ transplantation and autoimmune diseases. Pharmacokinetics (PK) of MPA demonstrates high inter- and intra-variability. The aim of this study was to compare the population PK properties of MPA in adult renal transplant patients in the early and stable post-transplant stages and to simulate an optimal dosing regimen for patients at different stages. A total of 51 patients in the early post-transplant period (1 week after surgery) and 48 patients in the stable state (5.5-10 years after surgery) were included in the study. In the two-compartment population PK model, CL/F (23.36 L/h vs. 10.25 L/h) and V/F (78.07 vs. 16.24 L) were significantly different between the two stages. The dose-adjusted area under the concentration time curve (AUC(ss,12h)/dose) for patients in the early stage were significantly lower than those for patients in the stable state (40.83 +/- 22.26 mg h/L vs. 77.86 +/- 21.34 mg h/L; p < 0.001). According to Monte Carlo simulations, patients with 1.0-1.5 g of mycophenolate mofetil twice daily in the early phase and 0.50-0.75 g twice daily in the stable phase had a high probability of achieving an AUC(ss,12h) of 30-60 mg h/L. In addition, limited sampling strategies showed that two 4-point models (C0-C1-C2-C4 and C1-C2-C3-C6) performed well in predicting MPA exposure by both Bayesian estimate and regression equation and could be applied in clinical practice to assist therapeutic drug monitoring of MPA.

Automated summary

This study compares the pharmacokinetic properties of mycophenolic acid (MPA) in adult renal transplant patients at different stages and simulates optimal dosing regimens. The results show significant differences in pharmacokinetic parameters between early and stable stage patients, with significantly lower AUC in the early stage. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that dosing 1.0-1.5 g of mycophenolate mofetil twice daily in the early phase and 0.50-0.75 g twice daily in the stable phase can achieve the desired drug exposure levels.