Prescribing-label excerpts
Ivacaftor / Lumacaftor
Reference for: Ivacaftor; Lumacaftor. Source presentation: granule; tablet, film coated. Source route: oral.
Mechanism of action
The CFTR protein is a chloride channel present at the surface of epithelial cells in multiple organs. The F508del mutation results in protein misfolding, causing a defect in cellular processing and trafficking that targets the protein for degradation and therefore reduces the quantity of CFTR at the cell surface. The small amount of F508del-CFTR that reaches the cell surface is less stable and has low channel-open probability (defective gating activity) compared to wild-type CFTR protein.
Lumacaftor improves the conformational stability of F508del-CFTR, resulting in increased processing and trafficking of mature protein to the cell surface. Ivacaftor is a CFTR potentiator that facilitates increased chloride transport by potentiating the channel-open probability (or gating) of the CFTR protein at the cell surface. In vitro studies have demonstrated that both lumacaftor and ivacaftor act directly on the CFTR protein in primary human bronchial epithelial cultures and other cell lines harboring the F508del-CFTR mutation to increase the quantity, stability, and function of F508del-CFTR at the cell surface, resulting in increased chloride ion transport. In vitro responses do not necessarily correspond to in vivo pharmacodynamic response or clinical benefit.
Pharmacokinetics
The exposure (AUC) of lumacaftor is approximately 2-fold higher in healthy adult volunteers compared to exposure in patients with CF. The exposure of ivacaftor is similar between healthy adult volunteers and patients with CF. After twice daily dosing, steady-state plasma concentrations of lumacaftor and ivacaftor in healthy subjects were generally reached after approximately 7 days of treatment, with an accumulation ratio of approximately 1.9 for lumacaftor. The steady-state exposure of ivacaftor is lower than that of Day 1 due to the CYP3A induction effect of lumacaftor.
Absorption — When a single dose of lumacaftor/ivacaftor was administered with fat-containing foods, lumacaftor exposure was approximately 2 times higher and ivacaftor exposure was approximately 3 times higher than when taken in a fasting state.
Following multiple oral dose administration of lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor, the exposure of lumacaftor generally increased proportional to dose over the range of 200 mg every 24 hours to 400 mg every 12 hours. The median (range) tmax of lumacaftor is approximately 4.0 hours (2.0; 9.0) in the fed state.
Following multiple oral dose administration of ivacaftor in combination with lumacaftor, the exposure of ivacaftor generally increased with dose from 150 mg every 12 hours to 250 mg every 12 hours. The median (range) tmax of ivacaftor is approximately 4.0 hours (2.0; 6.0) in the fed state.
Distribution — Lumacaftor is approximately 99% bound to plasma proteins, primarily to albumin. After oral administration of 200 mg every 24 hours for 28 days to patients with CF in a fed state, the mean (±SD) for apparent volumes of distribution was 86.0 (69.8) L.
Ivacaftor is approximately 99% bound to plasma proteins, primarily to alpha 1-acid glycoprotein and albumin.
Elimination — The half-life of lumacaftor is approximately 26 hours in patients with CF. The typical apparent clearance, CL/F (CV), of lumacaftor was estimated to be 2.38 L/hr (29.4%) for patients with CF. The half-life of ivacaftor when given with lumacaftor is approximately 9 hours in healthy subjects. The typical CL/F (CV), of ivacaftor when given in combination with lumacaftor was estimated to be 25.1 L/hr (40.5%) for patients with CF.
Drug Interaction Studies — Drug interaction studies were performed with lumacaftor/ivacaftor and other drugs likely to be co-administered or drugs commonly used as probes for pharmacokinetic interaction studies [see Drug Interactions (7) ].
Selected passages from the cited U.S. prescribing label. The studies concern the source product and populations named in each passage; they do not establish Walter-product bioequivalence, an approved indication, or the kinetics of another fixed combination. Tables and the full prescribing information remain available in the source.
Source: DailyMed: Ivacaftor / Lumacaftor — granule, tablet, film coated
Reference accessed . Label revision: 2026-03-24.
