Background: The anticoagulant warfarin, which is administered as a racemic mixture of R- and S-enantiomers, has been reported to interact with other drugs, including some antiepileptics. Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a once-daily voltage-gated sodium channel blocker that has been developed for the treatment of partial epilepsy and other indications.
Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate whether multiple-dose administration of ESL had any effect on the steady-state pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in healthy volunteers stabilized on warfarin at a subtherapeutic level.
Methods: Subjects received ESL 1200 mg once daily for 8 days concomitantly with racemic warfarin, the dose of which had been individually optimized to a stable prothrombin international normalized ratio (INR) of 1.3 to 1.8 during a previous run-in phase (up to 21 days). Coadministration of ESL and warfarin was followed by a 7-day recovery period when warfarin was again administered alone. The effects of ESL on the steady-state pharmacokinetics of R- and S-warfarin and on the INR were assessed. For the R- and S-warfarin assay, blood sampling was to occur at stage 1 (run-in period), 3 days before starting ESL dosing; stage 2 (combined treatment period), on days 1 and 8 at predose and 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, and 24 hours postdose, and on days 4, 6, and 7 at predose; and stage 3 (after the combined treatment period) on days 3, 5, and 7 predose, and on day 8 at 24 hours after the final warfarin dose. For determination of INR, blood sampling was to occur at stage 2 on days 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 at predose; and at stage 3 on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 at predose and on day 8 at 24 hours after the final warfarin dose. For the assay of the racemic mixture of the S- and the R-enantiomers (eslicarbazepine and R-licarbazepine), blood sampling was to occur at stage 2 on day 8 at predose and 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, and 24 hours postdose, and on days 2, 4, 6, and 7 at predose. C(max) and AUC(0-t) were defined as primary pharmacokinetic parameters. Tolerability was evaluated by monitoring adverse events, clinical laboratory safety tests, vital signs, and 12-lead ECG.
Results: Of the 15 subjects enrolled, 13 (7 men and 6 women) completed the study. The mean (SD) age was 28.1 (7.3) years (range, 20-42 years), mean weight was 67.3 (10.7) kg (range, 54.0-84.4 kg), and 14 subjects (93.3%) were white. Reductions in S-warfarin C(max) (test:reference geometric means ratio [GMR] = 0.81 [90% CI, 0.76 to 0.86] and in S-warfarin AUC(ss) (test:reference GMR = 0.77 [90% CI, 0.72 to 0.82]) were observed, without any clinically relevant changes in the INR. The mean INR was 1.45 (0.10) when warfarin was used alone in stage 1 (control) and 1.51 (0.25) when ESL was added to warfarin in stage 2. In relation to stage 1, a slight mean INR increase of 4.04% [90% CI, 1.03% to 9.12%] was reported in stage 2. In stage 3, following discontinuation of ESL administration, a change of -5.42% in the INR was found [90% CI, -8.85% to -1.98%]. ESL was not associated with any clinically relevant changes in R-warfarin pharmacokinetic parameters. No deaths, serious adverse events, or discontinuations due to adverse events were noted, and no clinically relevant findings were reported for the other safety variables. During the course of the study, 9 subjects (60%) reported a total of 32 adverse events. Catheter-site ecchymosis, venipuncturesite hematoma, dizziness, vasovagal reaction, and adhesive-tape allergy were the most common adverse events reported. During coadministration of ESL and warfarin, 7 subjects reported a total of 17 adverse events, of which 6 (epigastric discomfort, asthenia, dizziness, lipothymia, irritability, and macular rash) were considered possibly related to treatment; only lipothymia reached moderate intensity, and all symptoms subsided without sequelae after ESL was discontinued.
Conclusions: In this short-term study in healthy subjects, coadministration of warfarin and ESL 1200 mg once daily was associated with a small, but statistically significant, reduction in systemic exposure to S-warfarin. There was no statistically significant effect on R-warfarin pharmacokinetics or on coagulation as measured by the INR. Protocol identifier: UFH/BIA-2093-108.