Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Evidence From a Phase 3 Trial to Support Flat-Dosing of Rifampicin for Tuberculosis

The optimal dosing strategy for rifampicin in treating drug-susceptible tuberculosis (TB) is still highly debated. In the phase 3 clinical trial Study 31/ACTG 5349 (NCT02410772), all participants in the control regimen arm received 600 mg rifampicin daily as a flat dose. Here, we evaluated relationships between rifampicin exposure and efficacy and safety outcomes.

We analyzed rifampicin concentration time profiles using population nonlinear mixed-effects models. We compared simulated rifampicin exposure from flat- and weight-banded dosing. We evaluated the effect of rifampicin exposure on stable culture conversion at 6 months; TB-related unfavorable outcomes at 9, 12, and 18 months using Cox proportional hazard models; and all trial-defined safety outcomes using logistic regression.

Our model-derived rifampicin exposure ranged from 4.57 mg · h/L to 140.0 mg · h/L with a median of 41.8 mg · h/L. Pharmacokinetic simulations demonstrated that flat-dosed rifampicin provided exposure coverage similar to the weight-banded dose. Exposure-efficacy analysis (n = 680) showed that participants with rifampicin exposure below the median experienced similar hazards of stable culture conversion and TB-related unfavorable outcomes compared with those with exposure above the median. Exposure-safety analysis (n = 722) showed that increased rifampicin exposure was not associated with increased grade 3 or higher adverse events or serious adverse events.

Flat-dosing of rifampicin at 600 mg daily may be a reasonable alternative to the incumbent weight-banded dosing strategy for the standard-of-care 6-month regimen. Future research should assess the optimal dosing strategy for rifampicin, at doses higher than the current recommendation.