Pharmacokinetic drug evaluation of ixazomib citrate for the treatment of multiple myeloma

ABSTRACT

Introduction: multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell disorder that represents the second most frequent hematologic cancer. Although MM is still an incurable disease, prognosis has improved in the last decades thanks to the introduction of novel agents such as proteasome inhibitors (PIs), immunomodulatory drugs, monoclonal antibodies, and histone deacetylase inhibitors.

Areas covered: ixazomib is the first oral PI recently approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicine Agency (EMA) in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone as salvage therapy in MM patients. In this paper, we focus on its pharmacokinetics features, as well as its safety and efficacy in clinical studies.

Expert opinion: ixazomib can be considered an oral analogue of bortezomib, with 9.5-day half-life, 58% of oral bioavailability, and a large distribution volume of 543L. These features make it a versatile molecule, potentially useful both in combination and as single agent. Oral route of administration and good efficacy/safety profile are its winning characteristics, providing the rationale for a future role also in the maintenance setting.

KEYWORDS:

• Ixazomib
• maintenance therapy
• multiple myeloma
• pharmacokinetics
• proteasome inhibitors

Declaration of Interest

M Boccadoro has received honoraria from Sanofi, Celgene, Amgen, Janssen, Novartis, Abbvie, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, and research funding from Celgene, Janssen, Amgen, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Mundipharma, Novartis, Sanofi. A Larocca has received honoraria from Amgen, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Celgene and Janssen-Cilag. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. A reviewer on this manuscript has disclosed research funds and speaker fees from Takeda Oncology.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.