Once-daily tacrolimus extended release formulation: Experience at 2 years postconversion from a prograf-based regimen in stable liver transplant recipients

Compliance with complex immunosuppressant drug therapies in transplant recipients might be improved with regimens that require less frequent dosing. A once-daily extended release (XL) formulation of tacrolimus has been developed that allows a 1:1 conversion from the twice-a-day tacrolimus (TAC) formulation and has a good exposure to trough concentration correlation. In an open-label, multicenter study, stable liver transplant recipients (n=69) were converted from twice-a-day TAC to XL once-daily in the morning, and were maintained for at least 2 years postconversion using the same therapeutic monitoring and patient care techniques employed with TAC. Two years after conversion, the incidence of biopsy-confirmed acute rejection was 5.8% (4 of 69); patient and graft survival was 98.6% (68 of 69). The safety profile of XL was consistent with that previously reported for TAC. Liver transplant recipients can be converted from twice-a-day TAC to once-daily XL and maintained for at least 2 years postconversion with neither unique efficacy nor safety concerns.