Cardiac Safety of Rupatadine in a Single‐Ascending‐Dose and Multiple‐Ascending‐Dose Study in Healthy Japanese Subjects, Using Intensive Electrocardiogram Assessments—Comparison With the Previous White Caucasian Thorough QT Study

A thorough QT/QTc study in healthy white Caucasian subjects demonstrated that rupatadine has no proarrhythmic potential and raised no cardiac safety concerns. The present phase 1 study aimed to confirm the cardiac safety of rupatadine in healthy Japanese subjects. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 27 healthy Japanese subjects were administered single and multiple escalating rupatadine doses of 10, 20, and 40 mg or placebo. Triplicate electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings were performed on days -1, 1, and 5 at several points, and time-matched pharmacokinetic samples were also collected. Concentration-effect analysis based on the change in the QT interval corrected using Fridericia's formula (QTcF) from average baseline was performed. Data from the formal TQT study in white Caucasian subjects was used for a comparison analysis. The ECG data for rupatadine at doses up to 40 mg did not show an effect on the QTc interval of regulatory concern. The sensitivity of this study to detect small changes in the QTc interval was confirmed by demonstrating a significant shortening of QTcF on days 1 and 5 four hours after a standardized meal. The data from this study exhibited no statistically significant differences in the QTc effect between Japanese and white Caucasian subjects.