The effect of pretreatment with ranitidine, an antacid, on the absorption of AS-924, a novel prodrug-type cephem antibiotic derived from ceftizoxime (CTIZ), was examined in eight healthy adult male volunteers by the cross-over method, using cefteram-pivoxil (CTER-PI) as the control drug. The C(max) and area under the concentration (AUC) values and cumulative urinary excretion rate (0-24 h) of cefteram (CTER) after administration of CTER-PI decreased by 32, 38 and 37%, respectively, in the ranitidine pretreatment group whereas those of AS-924 were not affected by the antacid. The urinary levels of pivaloyl-carnitine determined to evaluate the solubility of these antibiotics in the gastrointestinal tract suggested that this was not affected by ranitidine. These results indicate that the absorption of CTER-PI was affected by pretreatment with ranitidine largely due to inactivation of this antibiotic in the gastrointestinal tract at high pH rather than to a decrease in solubility. In contrast, isomerization of AS-924 was hardly induced by the elevation of pH, thus demonstrating that AS-924 was less likely to be affected by pretreatment with antacids.