key: cord-0833817-3xwewtcb
authors: Venisse, Nicolas
title: Potential drug‐drug interactions associated with drugs currently proposed for COVID‐19 treatment in patients receiving other treatments
date: 2020-07-02
journal: Fundam Clin Pharmacol
DOI: 10.1111/fcp.12588
sha: 49eecd3df3e96796b72381b1e907ed3ba0d8575b
doc_id: 833817
cord_uid: 3xwewtcb

Pharmacologists, pharmacists and other drug experts have been at the forefront during the COVID‐19 outbreak. Pharmacological expertise was required in various areas such as the daily healthcare of patients admitted to our hospitals [1], the implementation of pharmacokinetic and pharmacokinetic‐pharmacodynamic studies in clinical trials of repurposed drugs [2] and even in providing up‐to‐date information to the general population [3].

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved illness. It is also of primary importance for the COVID-19 patients admitted in intensive care units and receiving treatments for critical care and complications.

In their review published in this new issue of Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology, Lemaitre et al [4] propose to extensively analyze the potential for drug-drug interactions of drugs being tested to treat COVID-19. They considered drug-drug interactions from a pharmacokinetic point of view at each step of the ADME process, and also from a pharmacodynamic point of view. For that purpose, they used data from various sources: (i) dedicated interaction studies using a crossover design, (ii) data from retrospective studies and case reports, (iii) quantitative prediction using in vivo data. Drugs of interest were those currently being tested to treat COVID-19: hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir, remdesivir, lopinavir, interferon, tocilizumab, sarilumab, anakinra and azithromycin. One should acknowledge that COVID-19 treatment is a fast-moving area and that, at this time, there is still no high quality evidence to support the efficacy of these drugs in COVID-19. In their review, Lemaitre et al [4] not only propose a quantitative assessment of drug-drug interaction but also make some suggestions for alternatives and for dosing adjustment. In some cases, therapeutic drug monitoring is proposed to guide dosing adjustment. Of 

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved This review by Lemaitre et al [4] offers healthcare providers and researchers involved in the fight against the pandemic a resource for understanding the core principles of drug-drug interactions in this era of COVID-19, and for finding useful information for effective and safe pharmacotherapy.

Lopinavir pharmacokinetics in COVID-19 patients

on behalf of C-20-5 15 DisCoVeRy French Steering Committee. Rationale of a loading dose initiation for hydroxychloroquine treatment in COVID-19 1 infection in DisCoVeRy trial

Genesis of an emergency public drug information website by the French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics during the COVID-19 pandemic

French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology. Potential drug-drug interactions associated with drugs currently proposed for COVID-19 treatment in patients receiving other treatments

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine