Relative bioavailability of a pediatric dispersible tablet and adult film‐coated tablet of macitentan in healthy volunteers

Abstract To compare the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of the pediatric dispersible tablet formulation of macitentan and the adult film‐coated tablet formulation of macitentan in healthy subjects. A randomized, open‐label, single‐dose, two‐sequence, two‐period, crossover, Phase 1 study was conducted in 12 healthy adults. Subjects were randomized to one of the two possible treatment sequences A/B or B/A on Day 1 under fasted conditions. Treatment A was a single 10 mg dose of macitentan (film‐coated adult formulation) and Treatment B was a single 10 mg dose of macitentan, consisting of two 5 mg dispersible tablets (pediatric formulation). PK sampling over 216 hours was conducted, and PK parameters were derived using non‐compartmental methods. For macitentan, geometric means ratio of peak plasma concentrations (Cmax), plasma concentration‐time curve from zero to the time of the last quantifiable concentration (AUC0‐t), and plasma concentration‐time curve from zero to infinity (AUC0‐∞) were 1.140, 0.974, and 0.974, respectively. The corresponding 90% confidence intervals fell entirely within the referenced range of 0.8000 to 1.2500, which is used for evaluation of bioequivalence. These results indicate no significant differences between the pediatric dispersible tablet and the adult film‐coated tablet. Both formulations were well tolerated. The pediatric dispersible tablet is biocomparable to the adult film‐coated tablet formulation.