Population pharmacokinetic modeling study and discovery of covariates for the antidepressant sertraline, a serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor.

The purpose of this study was to discover effective covariates related to explanation of inter-individual pharmacokinetic (PK) variations through population pharmacokinetic (Pop-PK) modeling for sertraline and to provide insight into establishing scientific regimen. The bioequivalence results of sertraline performed on 24 healthy Korean men and the physiological and biochemical parameters derived from each individual were used as data to develop a Pop-PK model of sertraline for Koreans. And the relevant effectiveness of ∗10 allele polymorphisms of CYP2D6 in sertraline PK polymorphisms was further confirmed through a modeling approach. The Pop-PK profiles of sertraline were explained by the basic structure of sequential 2-absorption with 1-compartment, and in terms of inter-individual PK diversity, the volume of distribution could be significantly correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and clearance with total protein levels. CYP2D6∗10 allele was not significant in interpreting sertraline PK diversity. As a result of model simulation, the concentration of sertraline in serum significantly increased as total protein and eGFR levels became higher and lower, respectively. The mean serum concentrations of sertraline at steady-state differed by up to 2.12 times from 10.36 to 22.02 ng/mL depending on changes in total protein and eGFR levels, and the fluctuations between the maximum and minimum concentration values ranged from 2.02 to 29.51 to 4.31-63.78 ng/mL. The factor that significantly influenced change in mean serum concentration of sertraline at steady-state was the total protein level, which was interpreted to be closely related to the change in clearance due to the high serum protein binding of sertraline.