Aims

Cabotegravir delivered as a long-acting intramuscular injection has shown superior efficacy to oral tenofovir-emtricitabine as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV. Cabotegravir pharmacokinetics (PK), like those of other long-acting depot preparations, exhibit variability between individuals and between injection occasions. The aim of this study is to describe the population pharmacokinetics of long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA).

Methods

Using available PK measurements from 133 participants in the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 077 trial, we analysed CAB-LA PK data using nonlinear mixed-effects modelling to develop a population PK model.

Results

A two-compartment model with first order absorption best described the CAB-LA PK. The analysis identified between-occasion variability (BOV, i.e., differences in PK within one individual from one injection to the next) as a significant covariate affecting the absorption rate, with an estimated contribution of BOV to PK variability on the absorption rate (k_a ) of 38.5%. Sex and body weight were identified as significant covariates influencing the absorption rate and apparent clearance of CAB-LA after intramuscular injection at various doses and frequencies. Male participants had 67% higher k_a than female participants. Serially adding to the model body weight on clearance, sex on k_a , and BOV on k_a led to a decrease in the objective function value (OFV) of 24.4, 36 and 321.4, respectively.

Conclusion

The public availability of this model will facilitate and enable a wide variety of future clinically relevant simulations to inform the optimal use of CAB-LA.