OBJECTIVE The effect of multidrug resistance transporter gene 1 (MDR1) on the bioavailability and kinetics of several substrates has not yet been fully elucidated. We evaluated the influence of MDR1 C3435T polymorphism on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of lansoprazole in Japanese subjects. METHODS Fifteen healthy volunteers with the rapid extensive metabolizer genotype of CYP2C19 were classified into three MDR1 C3435T genotype groups: C/C (n = 5), C/T (n = 5), and T/T (n = 5). Lansoprazole 30 mg was administered orally for 15 days. The intragastric pH and plasma lansoprazole levels were determined on days 1 and 15. RESULTS On day 1, the mean C(max) of lansoprazole in the T/T group was significantly higher than that in the C/C or C/T groups (T/T 1,248, C/C 618, C/T 607 ng/ml; P = 0.038). On day 15, similar MDR1 genotype-dependent differences were observed in the C(max) of lansoprazole, although smaller than the differences observed on day 1. In contrast, the intragastric pH attained after lansoprazole administration did not differ among MDR1 genotype groups on either day 1 or day 15. CONCLUSIONS Although the sample size was small, our study demonstrated that the MDR1 C3435T polymorphism influenced the pharmacokinetics, but not the pharmacodynamics (i.e., intragastric pH), of lansoprazole in rapid metabolizers of CYP2C19.