Pravastatin sodium

Pravastatin sodium is a high selective inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA) reductase of 44.1nM [1].

Pravastatin is a competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase. It has shown to reduce the level of plasma LDL both in animals and humans through inhibiting cellular cholesterol synthesis. Pravastatin was reported to reduce cellular cholesterol synthesis in three types of macrophages including J-774 A.1 macrophage-like cell line, human monocyte derived macrophages (HMDM) and mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPM) with IC50 values of 0.08, 6.3 and 7.8μg/ml, respectively [2].

Besides the benefit in cardiovascular disease prevention, pravastatin also has efficacy of preventing tumor growth in some degree. However, it has shown that the normal hepatocytes are more sensitive to pravastatin than the tumor cells since pravastatin is selectively taken up by OATP1B1 which is exclusively expressed in normal hepatocytes [3].

References:
[1] Bolego C, Poli A, Cignarella A, Catapano AL, Paoletti R. Novel statins: pharmacological and clinical results. Cardiovasc Drugs Ther. 2002 May;16(3):251-7.
[2] Keidar S, Aviram M, Maor I, Oiknine J, Brook JG. Pravastatin inhibits cellular cholesterol synthesis and increases low density lipoprotein receptor activity in macrophages: in vitro and in vivo studies. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1994 Dec;38(6):513-9.
[3] Menter DG, Ramsauer VP, Harirforoosh S, Chakraborty K, Yang P, Hsi L, Newman RA, Krishnan K. Differential effects of pravastatin and simvastatin on the growth of tumor cells from different organ sites. PLoS One. 2011;6(12):e28813.

Formulation and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Microcapsules Containing Pravastatin Sodium Using Rats.[Pubmed:27595040]

Scientifica (Cairo). 2016;2016:7623193.

Pravastatin sodium has a cholesterol lowering agent. It has shorter half-life and undergoes first-pass metabolism. Frequent dose is required in case of conventional dosage form. The purpose of the study is to formulate and evaluate microcapsules containing Pravastatin sodium by complex with cholestyramine resins coated with Eudragit RLPO and Eudragit RSPO polymers for achieving control release. Complexation of drug on resin was carried out by batch method. Microencapsulation was carried out by nonaqueous solvent evaporation method. Pharmacokinetic studies were done by using rats. The intermediate stability studies were carried out on the most satisfactory formulations. FTIR, X-ray diffraction, and DSC spectra of drug, drug-resinates, and polymers revealed no chemical interaction. The % DEE and % yield were observed for formulations of f1 to f7 that were varied from 97.1 +/- 0.8 to 98.9 +/- 0.5% and 95.0 +/- 3.25 to 98.8 +/- 7.1%, respectively. Most satisfactory formulation, f6, showed drug release up to 72.6%. No changes in % DEE and % CDR were observed after stability studies. Microcapsules of f6 formulation achieved best performance regarding in vitro drug release and from pharmacokinetic evaluation mean residence time was found to be 6.3 h, thus indicated, Pravastatin sodium microcapsules were released and absorbed slowly over a prolonged period of time.

A laboratory data-based evaluation of the efficacy and safety of generic pravastatin sodium for long-term use.[Pubmed:26819746]

J Pharm Health Care Sci. 2015 Dec 18;2:1.

BACKGROUND: Increasing the use of generic drugs may reduce the growing healthcare spending. Nevertheless, in Japan, the generic drug market share remains low compared to that of European countries and the United States, mainly because of the general distrust of generic drugs. To address this problem, we retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of the long-term use of generic Pravastatin sodium in a study from January 2008 to December 2011. METHODS: Patients receiving generic Pravastatin sodium for >/=15 months were defined as long-term users and were included in the study, totaling 595 out of 1337 patients. Efficacy assessment was based on the total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) plasma levels. Safety assessment was based on the aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), gamma-glutamyl transferase (gamma-GTP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total-bilirubin (T-Bil), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr), and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) plasma levels. The patients' reasons for discontinuing generic Pravastatin sodium were obtained from the electronic medical records. RESULTS & DISCUSSION: No significant difference in the laboratory data was observed between short-term and long-term users, except for significantly lower ALT levels in the long-term users than in the short-term users. No liver dysfunction was observed. Although 37 patients discontinued the study possibly owing to drug-related adverse events, we considered these events unrelated to generic Pravastatin sodium. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the long-term use of generic Pravastatin sodium is effective and safe, and may help dispel the concerns about generic drugs.

Duodenum-triggered delivery of pravastatin sodium: II. Design, appraisal and pharmacokinetic assessments of enteric surface-decorated nanocubosomal dispersions.[Pubmed:27094305]

Drug Deliv. 2016 Nov;23(9):3266-3278.

CONTEXT: Pravastatin sodium (PVS) is a freely water-soluble HMG-CoA inhibitor that suffers from instability at gastric pH, extensive first pass metabolism, short elimination half-life (1-3 h) and low oral bioavailability (18%). OBJECTIVE: To overpower these drawbacks and to maximize drug absorption at its main site of absorption at the duodenum, enteric surface-coated PVS-loaded nanocubosomal dispersions were presented. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Glyceryl monooleate (GMO)-based dispersions were developed by the fragmentation or the liquid precursor methods using Pluronic(R) F127 or Cremophor(R) EL as surfactants. As a challenging enteric-coating approach, the promising dispersions were surface-coated via lyophilization with Eudragit(R) L100-55; a duodenum-targeting polymer. The drug content, particle size, zeta potential, morphology and release studies of PVS-loaded dispersions were evaluated before and after surface-coating. Compared to an aqueous PVS solution, the pharmacokinetics of the best achieved system (E-F8) was evaluated (UPLC-MS/MS) in rats. RESULTS: The enteric surface-coated nanocubosomal dispersions were more or less spherical in shape and showed high drug-loading, negative zeta potential values and fine-tuned biphasic drug-release patterns characterized by retarded (2 h) and sustained (10 h) phases in pH 1.2 and pH 6.8, respectively. E-F8 system showed significantly (p< 0.05) higher oral bioavailability, delayed Tmax and prolonged MRT0-infinity following oral administration in rats. CONCLUSIONS: The duodenum-triggering potential and the controlled-release characteristics of the best achieved system for smart PVS delivery were revealed.

Design of fixed dose combination and physicochemical characterization of enteric-coated bilayer tablet with circadian rhythmic variations containing telmisartan and pravastatin sodium.[Pubmed:28330645]

Int J Pharm. 2017 May 15;523(1):343-356.

The aim of this study was to investigate a fixed dose combination (FDC) of telmisartan (TEL) and Pravastatin sodium (PRA) in enteric-coated bilayer tablets, which was designed for once-daily bedtime dose in order to match circadian rhythmic variations of hypertension and cholesterol synthesis and optimize the patient friendly dosing treatment. Due to the poor aqueous solubility of TEL, ternary solid dispersions (SD) consisting of TEL, polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG 6000) and magnesium oxide (MgO) were designed to enhance its dissolution rate in intestinal fluid. MgO was added as an effective alkalizer to maintain the high microenvironmental pH of the saturated solution in the immediate vicinity of TEL particles because TEL is known to be ionizable but poorly soluble in intestinal fluid. In contrast, PRA is known to be very unstable in low pH conditions. In the SD system, TEL was present in an amorphous structure and formed an intermolecular hydrogen bonding with MgO, giving complete drug release without precipitation in intestinal fluid. In addition, the amount of hydrophilic carrier (PEG 6000) was also a factor. In the design of tablet formulation, the diluents and superdisintegrants could play a key role in release profiles. Then, to fulfill the unmet needs of the two model drugs and match circadian rhythmic variations of hypertension and cholesterol synthesis, enteric-coated bilayer tablet consisting of TEL SD and PRA was finally prepared using Acryl-EZE((R)) as an enteric coating material. Prior to enteric coating, a seal coating layer (Opadry((R)), 2% weight gains) was firstly introduced to separate the core bilayer tablet from the acidic enteric coating polymers to avoid premature degradation. Dissolution profiles of finished tablets revealed that enteric-coated bilayer tablets with 6% weight gains remained intact in acidic media (pH 1.0) for 2h and then released drugs completely within 45min after switching to the intestinal media (pH 6.8). It was observed that enteric-coated bilayer tablets were stable during 3 month under the accelerated condition of 40 degrees C/75% RH. The delayed drug release and bedtime dosage regimen using enteric-coated bilayer tablet containing TEL and PRA, matching the circadian rhythms of hypertension and hyperlipidemia can provide therapeutic benefits for elderly patients in terms of maximizing the therapeutic effects.

Hydrophilicity/lipophilicity: relevance for the pharmacology and clinical effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.[Pubmed:9509899]

Trends Pharmacol Sci. 1998 Jan;19(1):26-37.

The recent development of specific competitive inhibitors of the hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase such as lovastatin, simvastatin, pravastatin and fluvastatin has provided an important new and effective approach to the treatment of hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis. These agents are designed to be hepatoselective because the primary site of cholesterol synthesis is the liver and peripheral inhibition of cholesterol synthesis would be more likely to cause adverse drug effects. In this review, Bettina Hamelin and Jacques Turgeon discuss how specific physico-chemical and pharmacological properties (first-pass effect or carrier-mediated uptake) confer hepatoselectivity to either lipophilic or hydrophilic HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.