Perampanel dosage in plasma samples: development and validation of a novel HPLC method with combined UV-Fluorescence detection

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a recognized method to improve the quality of use of antiepileptic drugs, such as perampanel (PRP). It is the first compound in the class of selective non-competitive antagonists of AMPA receptors approved in 2012 in Europe and United States for adjunctive therapy of partial seizures. Although several studies have recently underlined that a general reference range for PRP plasmatic concentration might be difficult to propose, TDM of this drug is important in specific clinical situations, as hepatic or renal impairment or co-administration with enzyme-inducing antiepileptics. Several methods have been described in literature for the determination of PRP in different biological matrices, which include the use of liquid chromatography methods coupled with ultraviolet, fluorescence, mass or tandem-mass spectrometry detection. Here we describe the development and validation of a novel method for the measurement of PRP in plasma samples, based on a HPLC-UV/FL double detection approach and using ketoprofen as internal standard. PRP concentration in a small subset of plasma samples of treated patients was evaluated using both our approach and a commercially available CE-IVD LC–MS/MS method. The results obtained were compared, and confirmed the possibility to use our method as an alternative to LC–MS/MS in clinical routine.