In-Silico Assisted Development of Supersaturable Preconcentrated Isotropic Mixture of Atazanavir for Augmenting Biopharmaceutical Performance in Presence of H2-Receptor Antagonist
Abstract The therapeutic potential of atazanavir (BCS Class II drug), a highly selective inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) has been largely limited due to its low intrinsic solubility at elevated pH resulting in low oral bioavailability. Thus, the current work describes the systematic development, optimization and evaluation of HPMC-AS based supersaturable preconcentrate isotropic mixture (SP-IM) containing long chain triglyceride to improve intestinal lymphatic transport and augment oral bioavailability of atazanavir (ATZ). A D-optimal mixture design was employed for optimization of plain IM containing Corn Oil, Oleic acid, Tween 80 and Propylene Glycol, evaluating CQAs like particle size, PDI, self-emulsification time, % transmittance and drug content. In-silico analysis and in-vitro supersaturation test facilitated the selection of HPMC-AS as a best suited polymeric precipitation inhibitor (PPI) for formulating ATZ loaded SP-IM (ATZ-SP-IM). In-vitro dissolution data indicated that ATZ-SP-IM exhibits superior performance in 0.025N HCl and pH 6.8 over pure drug. Ex-vivo permeation and in-vivo pharmacokinetic study of ATZ-SP-IM corroborated enhanced permeation (2.03 fold) and improved drug absorption via lymphatic transport in wistar rats. Further, the pharmacokinetic performance of ATZ-SP-IM was not affected in presence of H2 receptor antagonist. Therefore, the results showed that ATZ-SP-IM can significantly improve the biopharmaceutical attributes of ATZ so as to lay a foundation of further research on the new dosage form of ATZ.