Research Focus

Clinical Pharmacology

Area of Research

HIV pharmacology with a focus on drug interactions and pharmacokinetics in specialized populations

• Use of PBPK modelling to simulate bictegravir pharmacokinetics and DDIs in elderly patients living with HIV
• Use of PBPK modelling to simulate dosing requirements of long-acting intramuscular antiretroviral drugs in special populations and to manage DDIs
• Real-life clinical management of DDIs between antiretrovirals and various comedications in patients of the SHCS
• Impact of non-HIV drugs on neurocognitive performance in the NAMACO patients
• Anticholinergic drug use in elderly patients of the SHCS
• Recognition of clinically relevant DDIs in the KIULARCO Cohort
• Prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use in elderly patients of the SHCS
• Development of permeability rate limited PBPK models to simulate DDIs at the hepatic level
• Use of PBPK modelling to simulate DDIs between antiretrovirals and commonly prescribed comedications in the aging HIV population

National Collaborations

• Prof. L. Decosterd and Dr. F. Livio. Division of clinical pharmacology, University Hospital Lausanne
• Prof. M. Cavassini. Division of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Lausanne
• Prof. M. Penny; PD Dr. M. Weisser and Dr. A. Kummerle. Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel
• Representatives of the HIV centers participating to the SHCS
• Prof. H. Bucher. Basel Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University Hospital of Basel
• Prof. G. Moffa. Department of Mathematics, University of Basel

International Collaborations

• Prof. D. Back; Prof. S. Khoo and Dr. M. Siccardi. Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Liverpool, UK
• Prof. B. Jakeman. Department of Pharmaceutical Practice and Administrative Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

• Simulation of the pharmacokinetics in elderly patients living with HIV and management of DDIs for the novel antiretroviral drug bictegravir
• Gender differences in the pharmacokinetics of antiretroviral drugs
• Prevalence of DDIs in the patients of the SHCS in the era of integrase inhibitors. Unboosted integrase inhibitors are characterized by a lower potential for DDIs. This project aims at evaluating whether the use of unboosted integrase inhibitors has led to a significant reduction in the prevalence of DDIs in patients of the SHCS. Results of this analysis will be compared to a previous analysis of the SHCS conducted 10 years ago (Marzolini C et al. Antivir Ther 2010)