Drug Interactions between exenatide and Lanoxin

ADJUST DOSING INTERVAL: Exenatide slows gastric emptying and may reduce the extent and rate of absorption of concomitantly administered oral medications. When acetaminophen 1000 mg was administered simultaneously with exenatide 10 mcg and also one hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours after exenatide injection, acetaminophen systemic exposure (AUC) was decreased by 21%, 23%, 24%, and 14%, respectively; peak plasma concentration (Cmax) was decreased by 37%, 56%, 54%, and 41%, respectively; and time to peak plasma concentration (Tmax) was increased from 0.6 hours in the control period to 0.9 hours, 4.2 hours, 3.3 hours, and 1.6 hours, respectively. These values were not significantly changed when acetaminophen was given one hour before exenatide injection.

MANAGEMENT: Concomitantly administered oral medications that are dependent on threshold concentrations for efficacy (e.g., antibiotics, contraceptives) or that require rapid gastrointestinal absorption (e.g., hypnotics, pain medications) should be administered at least 1 hour before exenatide. If such medications are to be administered with food, patients should be advised to take them with a meal or snack when exenatide is not administered.

Administration of digoxin with a high-fiber meal has been shown to decrease its bioavailability by almost 20%. Fiber can sequester up to 45% of the drug when given orally. Patients should be advised to maintain a regular diet without significant fluctuation in fiber intake while digoxin is being titrated.

Grapefruit juice may modestly increase the plasma concentrations of digoxin. The mechanism is increased absorption of digoxin due to mild inhibition of intestinal P-glycoprotein by certain compounds present in grapefruits. In 12 healthy volunteers, administration of grapefruit juice with and 30 minutes before, as well as 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 hours after a single digoxin dose (0.5 mg) increased the mean area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of digoxin by just 9% compared to administration with water. Moreover, P-glycoprotein genetic polymorphism does not appear to influence the magnitude of the effects of grapefruit juice on digoxin. Thus, the interaction is unlikely to be of clinical significance.