Comparison of pharmacokinetics between new quinolone antibiotics: the zabofloxacin hydrochloride capsule and the zabofloxacin aspartate tablet

Objectives: Zabofloxacin is being developed as a new fluoroquinolone antibiotic that is a potent and selective inhibitor of the essential bacterial type II topoisomerases and topoisomerase IV. Zabofloxacin is indicated for community-acquired respiratory infections due to Gram-positive bacteria. The aim of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetics (PK) of the zabofloxacin hydrochloride 400 mg capsule (DW224a, 366.7 mg as zabofloxacin) with the PK of the zabofloxacin aspartate 488 mg tablet (DW224aa, 366.5 mg as zabofloxacin) in healthy Korean male volunteers to assess the bioequivalence between the two drug formulations. Methods: A randomized, open-label, single-dose, two-way crossover study was performed. The subjects received either DW224a or DW224aa according to their sequence group. Plasma concentrations of zabofloxacin were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The maximum plasma concentrations (C-max), the area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC) from the time of dosing to 48 hours post-dosing (AUC(last)), and the AUC extrapolated to infinity (AUC(inf)) were determined from the plasma concentration-time profile. (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01341249). Results: Twenty-nine of the 32 subjects enrolled completed the study. The C-max, AUC(last), and AUC(inf) (mean +/- SD) values of DW224a were 1889.7 +/- 493.4 ng/mL, 11,110 +/- 2005.0 ng*h/mL, and 11,287 +/- 2012.6 ng*h/mL, respectively, and those of DW224aa were 2005.0 +/- 341.3 ng/mL, 11,719 +/- 2507.5 ng*h/mL, and 11,913 +/- 2544.8 ng*h/mL, respectively. The geometric mean ratios (90% confidence intervals) of the C-max, AUC(last), and AUC(inf) were 1.08 (1.00-1.17), 1.05 (1.00-1.10), and 1.05 (1.00-1.10), respectively, and were within the bioequivalence acceptance range of 0.8-1.25. Both drugs were well tolerated with no serious adverse events. Conclusion: A single oral dose of DW224a or DW224aa to healthy volunteers appeared to be well tolerated. Both DW224a and DW224aa exhibited comparable PK profiles and were bioequivalent in terms of PK parameters. Further studies in patients are needed to corroborate the result of this study.