Prediction of the bioequivalence of different crystal forms of rifampicin based on physiologically based pharmacokinetic model

The physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling strategy was adopted to predict the pharmacokinetic behavior of crystal forms I and II of rifampicin in humans, which was used to determine whether the two were bioequivalent.After conducting studies in vitro of the two crystal forms, a rat PBPK model was established based on the pharmacokinetic data of intravenous administration in rats.The model was optimized by the pharmacokinetic data of oral administration in rats.Species were extrapolated to healthy humans, and the extrapolation model was used to predict such pharmacokinetic behaviors as the drug-time curve, absorption site, and absorption amount of the two crystal forms of rifampicin in healthy humans.The prediction results of the healthy human model showed that the c_max of form I and form II rifampicin were 8.42 and 10.35 μg/mL, t_max were 0.40 and 0.32 h,and AUC_0-t were both 62.90 μg·h/mL.According to the prediction results of absorption, neither crystal form I nor crystal form II rifampicin was absorbed in the stomach, yet both were completely absorbed in the intestinal tract, with both the absorption site and the absorption amount were basically the same.The pharmacokinetic parameters of both crystal forms I and II of rifampicin were very close, which could indicate bioequivalence.