A method of increasing the bioavailability upon oral administration of a pharmacologically
active target agent, particularly an antitumor or antineoplastic agent which exhibits
poor or inconsistent oral bioavailability (e.g., paclitaxel, docetaxel or etoposide),
comprises the oral co-administration to a mammalian patient of the target agent
and an oral bioavailability-enhancing agent (e.g., cyclosporin A, cyclosporin D,
cyclosporin F or ketoconazole). The enhancing agent may be administered orally
from 0.5-24 hrs. prior to the oral administration of one or more doses of the target
agent, substantially simultaneously with the target agent or both prior to and
substantially simultaneously with the target agent. A method of treating mammalian
patients suffering from diseases responsive to target agents with poor oral bioavailability,
as well as oral dosage forms containing such target agents, combination oral dosage
forms containing bioavailability-enhancing agents and target agents and kits containing
enhancing and target agent dosage forms and dosing information for the co-administration
of the same are also disclosed.