Biography

Richard Court is a practicing specialist physician with a major interest in the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationships of anti-TB drugs, particularly for the treatment of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis. Recently, Richard was a co-investigator in two clinical studies, which have explored the effect of pregnancy on TB drug pharmacokinetics, drug secretion into the breastmilk of lactating women, and subsequent drug exposure in breastfeeding infants. Richard is affiliated with the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Cape Town.

Expertise

TB Diagnostics
Public Health

Key Impacts

Clofazimine exposure in the breastmilk of women treated for rifampicin-resistant TB

We observed a substantially higher concentration of clofazimine in breastmilk than in maternal plasma, possibly due to the drug’s lipophilicity. Implications for infant safety require further investigation.

Source: Conference 2024