Analyzing Potential Intestinal Transporter Drug-Drug Interactions: Reevaluating Ticagrelor Interaction Studies

Previous studies evaluating ticagrelor drug-drug interactions have not differentiated intestinal versus systemic mechanisms, which we do here.

Using recently published methodologies from our laboratory to differentiate metabolic- from transporter-mediated drug-drug interactions, a critical evaluation of five published ticagrelor drug-drug interactions was carried out to investigate the purported clinical significance of enzymes and transporters in ticagrelor disposition.

The suggested CYP3A4 inhibitors, ketoconazole and diltiazem, displayed unchanged mean absorption time (MAT) and time of maximum concentration (T_max) values as was expected, i.e., the interactions were mainly mediated by metabolic enzymes. The potential CYP3A4/P-gp inhibitor cyclosporine also showed an unchanged MAT value. Further analysis assuming there was no P-gp effect suggested that the increased AUC and unchanged t_1/2 for ticagrelor after cyclosporine administration were attributed to the inhibition of intestinal CYP3A4 rather than P-gp. Rifampin, an inducer of CYP3As after multiple dosing, unexpectedly showed decreased MAT and T_max values, which cannot be completely explained. In contrast, grapefruit juice, an intestinal CYP3A/P-gp/OATP inhibitor, significantly increased MAT and T_max values for ticagrelor, which may be due to activation of P-gp or inhibition of OATPs expressed in intestine.

This study provides new insight into the role of transporter pathways in ticagrelor intestinal absorption by examining potential MAT and T_max changes mediated by drug-drug interactions.