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Presents the proceedings of the British Pharmacological Society on drug metabolism in Great Britain. Analysis on the study of CYP2D6 polymorphism in relation to lung cancer and Parkinson's disease; Effects on the bioactivation of sulphamethoxazole; Structure of drug metabolism.

Describes the progress of clinical pharmacology in Great Britain over the last 20 years as of 2003. Contribution of B.B. Brodie, pharmacologist at the National Institute of Health on drug metabolism; Realization of adverse effect of racemates in the 1980s by pharmacologist E.J. Ariëns; Change in perception toward drug metabolism and its contribution to presystemic elimination.

Reports on developments related to dermatology in Great Britain as of March 1986. Schedule of the Occupation Skin Disease Course; Details of the Dermatology Self-Assessment Workshop; Topics to be discussed in the Seventh CIRD Symposium.

Objectives One potential concern of once-daily protease inhibitor administration is low trough concentrations and ultimately the ‘forgiveness’ or robustness in comparison with the originally licensed twice-daily dose. To give an estimation of ‘forgiveness’, we determined the length of time plasma drug concentrations were below target in HIV-infected patients receiving saquinavir/ritonavir regimens. Methods Seventy-seven pharmacokinetic profiles (saquinavir/ritonavir 1000/100 mg twice daily, n = 34; 1600/100 mg once daily, n = 26; 2000/100 mg once daily, n = 17) from five studies were combined, presented as twice- and once-daily percentiles (P10–P90) and compared. At percentiles where trough concentrations fell below the alleged minimum effective concentration (MEC; 100 ng/mL), the length of time below MEC was determined. Results Saquinavir concentrations were below MEC at P10 for 0.7 h for twice-daily saquinavir/ritonavir when compared with 8.6 and 6.6 h for 1600/100 and 2000/100 mg once daily, respectively. At P25, 1600/100 mg once daily produced suboptimal concentrations for 5.5 h in contrast to 0.5 h for 2000/100 mg once daily. Conclusions Here, we provide substantive data that indicate once-daily saquinavir, in particular 1600/100 mg, is not as robust as the twice-daily regimen based on a population of UK patients; this raises concern over late or missed doses. However, pharmacokinetic data can only ever be a guide to the impact on long-term efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]