Potential interactions between triazole antifungal agents and lorlatinib based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in rat plasma

Abstract Aim Our study is to investigate the effects of triazole antifungal drugs on the pharmacokinetics of lorlatinib in rats. Methods The samples were precipitated with methanol. Chromatographic separation was performed on a ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) system using a BEH C18 column. The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid water and methanol. Lorlatinib and crizotinib (internal standard) were detected in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The fragment ions were 407.3–228.07 for lorlatinib and m/z 450.3–260.0 for crizotinib. Lorlatinib and different triazole antifungal drugs were given to Sprague Dawley rats by gavage, and blood was collected from the tail vein at a certain time point. The validated UPLC–MS/MS method was applied to a drug interaction study of ketoconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole, and posaconazole with lorlatinib in rats. Results Ketoconazole and voriconazole significantly inhibited lorlatinib metabolism. When administration with ketoconazole and voriconazole, the area under the curve from time zero to infinity of lorlatinib increased by 49.0% and 104.3%, respectively; the clearance decreased by 40.0% and 40.0%, respectively. While itraconazole and posaconazole did not affect lorlatinib pharmacokinetics. Conclusion The UPLC-MS/MS-based assay is helpful to further understand the pharmacokinetics of lorlatinib in rats, and confirmed the findings that the combination of lorlatinib with CYP3A inhibitors should be avoided as predicted by our pre-clinical studies.