Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, October 2026
Author: Jeannine Sato
Oxcarbazepine Results-at-a-Glance video
Watch the Results-at-a-Glance video for oxcarbazepine.
This video version of the oxcarbazepine Results-at-a-Glance summary features iCAN member Piyush.
Lorazepam Results-at-a-Glance video
Watch the Results-at-a-Glance video for lorazepam.
This video version of the lorazepam Results-at-a-Glance summary features iCAN member Piyush.
iCAN 2026 Summit Hosts Summer Camp Fun in Ireland
This year’s Annual iCAN Summit took place in Kildare, Ireland on July 12 – July 17. It marked the 12th anniversary of iCAN.
Barretstown, an accessible summer camp by Serious Fun Children’s Network, hosted the Summit. In addition to keynote speakers, poster presentations, and interactive talks, Summit attendees participated in activities such as horseback riding, archery, canoeing, and a high ropes course. They also had the opportunity to visit University College of Dublin and the Dublin Zoo to learn more about careers in STEM.
Since 2019, PTN and iCAN have collaborated in several ways to engage young people and families in clinical research. While PTN could not attend this year’s Summit, PTN has attended several Annual iCAN Summits in the past, where PTN representatives presented collaborative lectures and participated in panel discussions. Youth representatives from iCAN have also reviewed and provided input on materials for 19 PTN studies. PTN also works with iCAN students to create video versions of Results-at-a-Glance summaries. Learn more about how PTN and iCAN work together.
Population Pharmacokinetics and Dosing Simulations of Pentobarbital in the Pediatric Population
Journal of Clinical Pharmacology • May 2026
Helfer VE, Medina-Aymerich L, Muller WJ, Meyer M, Al-Uzri A, McCulloh R, Hornik CD, Balevic SJ, Greenberg RG, Benjamin DK Jr, Anderson SG, Gonzalez D; Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act—Pediatric Trials Network Steering Committee.
Pentobarbital is a barbiturate with sedative and anticonvulsant properties, occasionally used in pediatric patients for preoperative sedation, deep sedation during mechanical ventilation, and seizure control. Despite its long-standing clinical use, age-appropriate dosing remains challenging due to variability across studies and limited pediatric pharmacokinetic (PK) data. This study (NCT01431326) aimed to characterize the population pharmacokinetics of pentobarbital in pediatric patients (birth to 21 years) and evaluate dosing strategies using model-based simulations.
PTN Shares Drug Label Changes at Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting
The Pediatric Trials Network (PTN) exhibited at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting in Boston, MA from April 24–27, 2026. In collaboration with PTN’s home institution, the Duke Clinical Research Institute, PTN staff created an interactive posterboard display highlighting U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) label changes for 26 commonly prescribed medications.
The label changes resulted from PTN’s research at more than 300 study sites on the safety, effectiveness, and dosing of drugs prescribed to children during standard treatment. Since 2011, PTN has submitted its research findings on how drugs affect children’s health and safety to the FDA. If there is significant evidence that the standard label is inadequate for children, the FDA will update it. These label changes help clinicians understand how to prescribe and dose medications for children to improve a drug’s safety and effectiveness.
Pictured from left to right: Adhiti Parupalli, Zoe Sund, Cheryl Alderman, Lori Poole
Three PTN clinical research project leaders, several PTN faculty members, and a student representative from the International Children’s Action Network (iCAN) attended the PAS Meeting to share information about the label changes, answer questions, and distribute materials about PTN’s mission and research.
“We had great engagement with the label change posterboard and talked with many people about how PTN supports the broader pediatrics community through this critical work,” said Cheryl Alderman, who is PTN Co-Program Manager, along with Zoe Sund (both pictured).
PAS is an international meeting that brings together thousands of pediatric researchers, clinicians, and medical educators from around the world. Its mission is to connect the global academic pediatric community to advance scientific discovery and promote innovation in child and adolescent health.
PTN is made possible by the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) and administered by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
Population Pharmacokinetics and Exposure-Safety Analysis of Furosemide in Preterm Infants
Journal of Clinical Pharmacology • April 2026
Randell RL, Maharaj A, Laughon M, Hornik CD, Greenberg RG, Lang JE, Cohen-Wolkowiez M, Hornik CP, Anand R, Martz K, Payne EH, Watt K, Muller WJ, Courtney SE, Atz A, Al-Uzri A, Sokol GM, Bloom BT, Iyengar A, Hanna M, Benjamin DK Jr, Balevic SJ; Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act – Pediatric Trials Network Steering Committee.
Furosemide is the most commonly used diuretic in preterm infants despite an incompletely understood relationship between dosing, exposure, and safety within this population. The goals of this study were to characterize furosemide population pharmacokinetics (popPK) in preterm infants and to evaluate safety by relating simulated furosemide exposure to events of ototoxicity, nephrocalcinosis, and nephrolithiasis. A total of 146 plasma furosemide concentrations from 51 preterm (23-28.9 weeks’ gestational age) infants across two studies (one randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-escalating safety trial and one opportunistic, observational study) were included in the analysis. Standard nonlinear mixed effects popPK modeling techniques were applied.
Population Pharmacokinetics to Support Intravenous and Enteral Methadone Dosing in Children
Journal of Clinical Pharmacology • January 2026
Watt KM, Thompson EJ, Lam L, Zimmerman K, Hornik CP, Atz AM, Fernandez A, Hupp SR, Bhatt-Mehta V, Benjamin DK Jr, Anand R, Cohen-Wolkowiez M, Gonzalez D, Smith PB, Capparelli EV; Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act — Pediatric Trials Network Steering Committee.
Methadone is used in hospitalized children to treat pain and iatrogenic opiate withdrawal. Optimal pediatric dosing for both enteral and intravenous methadone is unknown. We conducted two prospective, multi-center, open-label studies to characterize the pharmacokinetics of methadone in the pediatric population.
Population Pharmacokinetic Modeling of Oxcarbazepine and Its Active Metabolite 10-Monohydroxy Derivative to Inform Dosing in Children with Obesity
Clinical Pharmacokinetics • November 2025
Sinha J, Zimmerman K, Balevic SJ, Hornik C, Muller WJ, Rathore M, Meyer M, Finkelstein Y, Al-Uzri A, Lakhotia A, Goldstein S, Chen JY, Anand R, Gonzalez D; Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act–Pediatric Trials Network Steering Committee.
Oxcarbazepine (OXZ) is an antiepileptic drug whose pharmacological effect is primarily mediated by its active metabolite, 10-monohydroxy derivative (MHD). OXZ is approved for use in adults and children older than 2 years with an age- and body weight-tiered dosing recommendation, but dosing guidance for children with obesity is lacking. This work aimed to assess the dosing requirements of OXZ in children with obesity to support label extension.
Metronidazole exposure-response and safety in infants
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy • November 2025
Randell RL, Balevic SJ, Greenberg RG, Cohen-Wolkowiez M, Smith MJ, Benjamin DK Jr, Bendel C, Bliss JM, Chaaban H, Chhabra R, Dammann CEL, Downey LC, Hornik CD, Hussain N, Laughon MM, Lavery A, Moya F, Saxonhouse M, Sokol GM, Trembath A, Weitkamp J-H, Hornik CP; Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act—Pediatric Trials Network Steering Committee.
The nitroimidazole antibiotic, metronidazole, is frequently prescribed to infants with serious intra-abdominal infections, and multiple dosing recommendations exist. We sought to evaluate the extent to which metronidazole doses and associated exposures achieved desired efficacy and safety in infants enrolled in the Antibiotic Safety in Infants with Complicated Intra-abdominal Infections (SCAMP) trial (NCT01994993). SCAMP participants received intravenous metronidazole as part of multimodal antimicrobial therapy.