The very latest updates on Drug-Drug Interactions hot off the presses

How do you prevent adverse drug interactions in the rapidly evolving field of pharmacological therapies?

Presented by Global DDI Solutions in collaboration with Academic Medical Education, the DDI of the Month podcast brings you the latest updates on drug-drug interactions. Each month, a recent research paper will be selected and the author invited to discuss their findings, how to optimize DDI management and patient care going forward.

During the first podcast Prof. Dr. David Burger will discuss with the author Dr. Ditte Iversen the paper: “Flucloxacillin is a weak inducer of CYP3A4 in healthy adults and 3D spheroid of primary human hepatocytes”, published in Clinical Pharmacology & Pharmacotherapeutics in August 2023.

Find out the interesting results of this study! The podcast is available for you to hear now: DDI of the Month Podcast

Flucloxacillin is an antibiotic widely used to treat infections and is normally used for around 10 days but can be used for 4-6 weeks depending on the infections. Nowadays, we know that flucloxacillin is an agonist of the nuclear receptor PXR, which regulates cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2B6. With this information, combining flucloxacillin with drugs that are substrates to these CYP enzymes may result in drug-drug interactions. Several studies show that flucloxacillin reduces warfarin efficacy and plasma concentrations of voriconazole, tacrolimus and repaglinide. However, the exact mechanism behind these interactions is unknown.

The research group of Dr. Iversen has studied the extent of induction of flucloxacillin of the CYP enzymes (CYP3A4, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP1A2, and CYP2B6) in healthy adults and 3D spheroid of primary human hepatocytes (PHHs). The research group performed a randomized, unblinded, two-period, cross-over, clinical pharmacokinetic cocktail study with fourteen healthy adults. During the podcast, the study will be discussed in detail.

Go to the DDI Managers to utilize the online resources designed to assist healthcare professionals in prescribing and enhancing overall quality of life for their patients. You can access a DDI manager for a specific disease and search for the related drugs from there.