Effects of proton pump inhibitors, esomeprazole and vonoprazan, on the disposition of proguanil, a CYP2C19 substrate, in healthy volunteers

Aims: Vonoprazan, a new class of potassium-competitive Proton Pump inhibitors has been found to attenuate the antiplatelet function of clopidogrel in a recent clinical study, despite weak in vitro activity against CYP2C19. To elucidate the mechanism of this interaction, the present study investigated the effects of esomeprazole and vonoprazan on the pharmacokinetics of proguanil, a CYP2C19 substrate.

Methods: Seven healthy male volunteers (CYP2C19 extensive metabolizers) received a single oral administration of 100 mg proguanil/250 mg atovaquone (control phase), oral esomeprazole (20 mg) for 5 days followed by proguanil/atovaquone (esomeprazole phase) and oral vonoprazan (20 mg) for 5 days followed by proguanil/atovaquone (vonoprazan phase). Concentrations of proguanil and its metabolite, cycloguanil, in plasma and urine in each phase were determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Results: Coadministration with Proton Pump inhibitors resulted in increase and decrease in the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of proguanil and cycloguanil, respectively, significantly reducing their AUC ratio (cycloguanil/proguanil) to 0.317-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.256-0.379) and 0.507-fold (95% CI 0.409-0.605) in esomeprazole phase and vonoprazan phase, respectively. Esomeprazole and vonoprazan also significantly reduced the apparent formation clearance (cumulative amount of cycloguanil in urine divided by AUC of proguanil) to 0.324-fold (95% CI 0.212-0.436) and 0.433-fold (95% CI 0.355-0.511), respectively, without significant changes in renal clearance of proguanil and cycloguanil.

Conclusions: Although further studies are needed, both esomeprazole and vonoprazan potentially inhibit CYP2C19 at clinical doses, suggesting caution in the coadministration of these drugs with CYP2C19 substrates.