Human in Vivo Regional Intestinal Permeability: Quantitation Using Site-Specific Drug Absorption Data

Application of information on regional intestinal permeability has been identified as a key aspect of successful pharmaceutical product development. This study presents the results and evaluation of an approach for the indirect estimation of site-specific in vivo intestinal effective permeability (P eff) in humans. Plasma concentration–time profiles from 15 clinical studies that administered drug solutions to specific intestinal regions were collected and analyzed. The intestinal absorption rate for each drug was acquired by deconvolution, using historical intravenous data as reference, and used with the intestinal surface area and the dose remaining in the lumen to estimate the P eff. Forty-three new P eff values were estimated (15 from the proximal small intestine, 11 from the distal small intestine, and 17 from the large intestine) for 14 active pharmaceutical ingredients representing a wide range of biopharmaceutical properties. A good correlation (r 2 = 0.96, slope = 1.24, intercept = 0.030) was established between these indirect jejunal P eff estimates and jejunal P eff measurements determined directly using the single-pass perfusion double balloon technique. On average, P eff estimates from the distal small intestine and large intestine were 90% and 40%, respectively, of those from the proximal small intestine. These results support the use of the evaluated deconvolution method for indirectly estimating regional intestinal P eff in humans. This study presents the first comprehensive data set of estimated human regional intestinal permeability values for a range of drugs. These biopharmaceutical data can be used to improve the accuracy of gastrointestinal absorption predictions used in drug development decision-making.