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Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Golimumab in Healthy Chinese Subjects Following a Single Subcutaneous Administration in a Randomized Phase I Trial

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Abstract

Background and Objectives

Golimumab is an anti-tumor necrosis factor-α human immunoglobulin G1κ monoclonal antibody that is efficacious for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis in adults. The objective of this study was to assess the pharmacokinetic characteristics of golimumab in healthy male Chinese subjects following a single subcutaneous (SC) administration of golimumab 50 or 100 mg. The safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a single SC administration of golimumab in Chinese subjects were also evaluated.

Methods

This was a phase I, randomized, open-label, single-dose, single-period, single-center study. Twenty-four healthy male Chinese subjects were randomized (1:1) to receive a single SC administration of golimumab 50 or 100 mg. Serial blood samples for the measurement of serum golimumab concentrations were collected and analyzed using a validated electrochemiluminescent immunoassay method. The pharmacokinetic parameters [maximum observed serum concentration (Cmax), time to reach Cmax (tmax), area under the serum concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC∞), and terminal half-life (t½)] of golimumab were derived using a noncompartmental analysis.

Results

Following a single SC administration of golimumab 50 or 100 mg in Chinese male subjects (age 19–41 years, body weight 60–76 kg), mean ± standard deviation Cmax (3.6 ± 1.6 and 7.5 ± 1.4 μg/mL, respectively) and AUC∞ (59.8 ± 19.8 and 132.8 ± 27.0 μg·day/mL, respectively) increased in a dose-proportional manner. The median tmax was in the range of 4.5–5.0 days, and the mean t½ was in the range of 10.8–11.9 days. Among 24 subjects, 23 had appropriate samples for evaluation of antibodies to golimumab, and one subject (1/23, 4.3%) in the 100-mg group tested positive. Three mild adverse events were reported (infected sebaceous cyst, upper respiratory tract infection, and headache), all in the 50-mg group; none were considered to be related to the study agent.

Conclusions

Golimumab exhibited linear pharmacokinetics at dose levels of 50 and 100 mg following a single SC administration in healthy Chinese subjects. Single SC administrations of golimumab 50 or 100 mg were considered to be generally well tolerated. The results from this study indicate that there are no apparent ethnic differences in the pharmacokinetics of golimumab between Chinese and Caucasian subjects.

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Acknowledgments

Authors YZ, SL, ZX, EB-T, TM, JAF, MK, KJP, HMD, and HZ are or were employees of the study sponsor, Janssen Research & Development, LLC. at the time this work was performed and own/owned stock in Johnson & Johnson. EB-T is currently employed at DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Author YL is an employee of Peking University First Hospital, which received support from Janssen Research & Development, LLC. for this trial. Employees of the study sponsor, Janssen Research & Development, LLC., participated in designing the study; collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the data; and drafting the manuscript. Additional writing support was provided by employees of Janssen Biotech, Inc. All authors approved the final version for submission.

The authors thank Rebecca Clemente, PhD, and Mary Whitman, PhD, of Janssen Biotech, Inc., for editorial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biologics Clinical Pharmacology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Welsh and McKean Road, Spring House, PA, 19477, USA

    Yanli Zhuang, Zhenhua Xu, Joyce A. Ford, Monica Keen, Hugh M. Davis & Honghui Zhou

  2. Clinical Pharmacology Translational Medicine, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Welsh and McKean Road, Spring House, PA, 19477, USA

    Sally Lyn, Esther Bouman-Thio, Tara Masterson & Kevin J. Petty

  3. Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China

    Yuan Lv

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  1. Yanli Zhuang
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  2. Sally Lyn
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  3. Yuan Lv
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  4. Zhenhua Xu
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  5. Esther Bouman-Thio
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  6. Tara Masterson
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  7. Joyce A. Ford
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  8. Monica Keen
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  9. Kevin J. Petty
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  10. Hugh M. Davis
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  11. Honghui Zhou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Honghui Zhou.

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Zhuang, Y., Lyn, S., Lv, Y. et al. Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Golimumab in Healthy Chinese Subjects Following a Single Subcutaneous Administration in a Randomized Phase I Trial. Clin Drug Investig 33, 795–800 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40261-013-0124-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40261-013-0124-7

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