Andrew Teasdale

The utility of sulfonate salts in drug development

The issue of controlling genotoxic impurities in novel active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is a significant challenge. Much of the current regulatory concern, has been focused on the formation and control of genotoxic sulfonate esters. This is linked with the withdrawal of Viracept (Nefinavir mesilate) from European markets in mid-2007, over concerns about elevated levels of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). This issue has resulted in calls from European regulators to assess risk mitigation strategies for all marketed products employing a sulfonic acid counter-ion to ensure that the sulfonate esters that could be potentially formed are controlled to threshold of toxicological concern (TTC)-based limits. This has even led to calls to avoid sulfonic acids as salt counter-ions. However, sulfonic acid salts possess a range of properties that are useful to both synthetic and formulation chemists. Whilst sulfonate salts are not a universal panacea to some of the problems of salt formation they do offer significant advantages as alternatives to other salt forming moieties under certain circumstances. This review thus sets out to define some of the advantages provided through utilization of sulfonic acids, explaining the importance of their retention as part of a thorough salt selection process.

Boronic acids-a novel class of bacterial mutagen.

Boronic acids and their esters are important building blocks in organic syntheses including those for drug substances and for which, as far as it can be determined, there are no published reports of testing for genotoxicity. A number of boronic acids have now been tested in this laboratory using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA1535, TA1537, TA98 and TA100 and Escherichia coli strain WP2uvrA(pKM101). Twelve of the 13 structures presented here were found to be mutagenic. All the compounds except one were active only in TA100 and/or WP2uvrA(pKM101), did not require S9 activation and produced relatively weak responses, i.e. no more than seven times the concurrent solvent-control values at >1000μg/plate. The single exception was also weakly mutagenic for TA1537 in the presence of S9. Results with two compounds mutagenic for both TA100 and WP2uvrA(pKM101) showed no evidence of DNA-adduct formation detectable by (32)P-postlabelling. It appears that boronic acids represent a novel class of bacterial mutagen that may not act by direct covalent binding to DNA. However, their mechanism of action remains to be elucidated and it cannot yet be determined whether or not they present a real genotoxic hazard.

Establishing best practise in the application of expert review of mutagenicity under ICH M7.

The ICH M7 guidelines for the assessment and control of DNA reactive (mutagenic) impurities in pharmaceuticals allows for the consideration of in silico predictions in place of in vitro studies. This represents a significant advance in the acceptance of (Q)SAR models and has resulted from positive interactions between modellers, regulatory agencies and industry with a shared purpose of developing effective processes to minimise risk. This paper discusses key scientific principles that should be applied when evaluating in silico predictions with a focus on accuracy and scientific rigour that will support a consistent and practical route to regulatory submission.

Development and validation of an automated static headspace gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SHS-GC–MS) method for monitoring the formation of ethyl methane sulfonate from ethanol and methane sulfonic acid

An automated sample preparation and analysis procedure was developed to monitor the formation of ethyl methane sulfonate from reaction mixtures containing ethanol and methane sulfonic acid. The system is based on a liquid handling robot combined with a static headspace module. The formed ethyl methane sulfonate is analysed after derivatisation with pentafluorothiophenol using static headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SHS-GC-MS). Using the automated reaction-derivatisation-headspace GC-MS system, the formation of ethyl methane sulfonate can be monitored in different reaction mixtures under different reaction conditions, including temperature, water content and pH. Excellent linearity, repeatability and robustness were obtained, allowing the system to be used in kinetic studies.

Principles and procedures for implementation of ICH M7 recommended (Q)SAR analyses.

The ICH M7 guideline describes a consistent approach to identify, categorize, and control DNA reactive, mutagenic, impurities in pharmaceutical products to limit the potential carcinogenic risk related to such impurities. This paper outlines a series of principles and procedures to consider when generating (Q)SAR assessments aligned with the ICH M7 guideline to be included in a regulatory submission. In the absence of adequate experimental data, the results from two complementary (Q)SAR methodologies may be combined to support an initial hazard classification. This may be followed by an assessment of additional information that serves as the basis for an expert review to support or refute the predictions. This paper elucidates scenarios where additional expert knowledge may be beneficial, what such an expert review may contain, and how the results and accompanying considerations may be documented. Furthermore, the use of these principles and procedures to yield a consistent and robust (Q)SAR-based argument to support impurity qualification for regulatory purposes is described in this manuscript.

Extending (Q)SARs to incorporate proprietary knowledge for regulatory purposes: A case study using aromatic amine mutagenicity

Statistical-based and expert rule-based models built using public domain mutagenicity knowledge and data are routinely used for computational (Q)SAR assessments of pharmaceutical impurities in line with the approach recommended in the ICH M7 guideline. Knowledge from proprietary corporate mutagenicity databases could be used to increase the predictive performance for selected chemical classes as well as expand the applicability domain of these (Q)SAR models. This paper outlines a mechanism for sharing knowledge without the release of proprietary data. Primary aromatic amine mutagenicity was selected as a case study because this chemical class is often encountered in pharmaceutical impurity analysis and mutagenicity of aromatic amines is currently difficult to predict. As part of this analysis, a series of aromatic amine substructures were defined and the number of mutagenic and non-mutagenic examples for each chemical substructure calculated across a series of public and proprietary mutagenicity databases. This information was pooled across all sources to identify structural classes that activate or deactivate aromatic amine mutagenicity. This structure activity knowledge, in combination with newly released primary aromatic amine data, was incorporated into Leadscopes expert rule-based and statistical-based (Q)SAR models where increased predictive performance was demonstrated.

Controlled Extraction Studies Applied to Polyvinyl Chloride and Polyethylene Materials: Conclusions from the ELSIE Controlled Extraction Pilot Study

The effective management of leachables in pharmaceutical products is a critical aspect of their development. This can be facilitated if extractables information on the materials used in a packaging or delivery system is available to assist companies in selecting materials that will be compatible with the drug product formulation and suitable for the intended use. The Extractables and Leachables Safety Information Exchange (ELSIE) materials working group developed and executed a comprehensive extraction study protocol that included a number of extraction solvents, extraction techniques, and a variety of analytical techniques. This was performed on two test materials, polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), that were selected due to their common use in pharmaceutical packaging. The purpose of the study was to investigate if the protocol could be simplified such that (i) a reduced number or even a single extraction technique could be used and (ii) a reduced number of solvents could be used to obtain information that is useful for material selection regardless of product type. Results indicate that, at least for the PVC, such reductions are feasible. Additionally, the studies indicate that levels of extractable elemental impurities in the two test materials were low and further confirm the importance of using orthogonal analytical detection techniques to gain adequate understanding of extraction profiles.

Management of organic impurities in small molecule medicinal products: Deriving safe limits for use in early development

Abstract Management of organic non‐mutagenic impurities (NMIs) in medicinal products is regulated by the ICH Q3A, B and C guidelines that are applicable at late stages of clinical development (Phase III onwards) and as a consequence there is no guidance for the assessment and control of NMIs in early clinical trials. An analysis of several key in vivo toxicology databases supports the ICH Q3A defined concept that a lifetime dose to 1 mg/day of a NMI would not represent a safety concern to patients. In conjunction with routine (Q)SAR approaches, this 1 mg/day value could be used as a universal qualification threshold for a NMI during any stage of clinical development. This analysis also proposes that modification of this 1 mg/day dose using an established methodology (i.e. Modified Habers Law) could support 5 mg/day or 0.7% (whichever is lower) as an acceptable limit for a NMI in a drug substance or product in early clinical studies (<6 months). Given the controlled nature of clinical development and the knowledge that most toxicities are dose and duration dependent, these proposed NMI limits provide assurance of patient safety throughout clinical development, without the requirement to commission dedicated in vivo toxicology impurity qualification studies. HighlightsAnalysis of key in vivo toxicology databases provides validation of the 1 mg/day ICH Q3A drug impurity qualification threshold.Coupled with (Q)SAR analysis an impurity qualification threshold of 1 mg/day could be applicable at any stage of development.Application of modified Habers Law supports higher (≤5 mg) impurity limits in early stages of drug development.The approach addresses a gap in the impurity guidelines and could reduce the number of impurity qualification toxicology studies.

In silico toxicology protocols

The present publication surveys several applications of in silico (i.e., computational) toxicology approaches across different industries and institutions. It highlights the need to develop standardized protocols when conducting toxicity-related predictions. This contribution articulates the information needed for protocols to support in silico predictions for major toxicological endpoints of concern (e.g., genetic toxicity, carcinogenicity, acute toxicity, reproductive toxicity, developmental toxicity) across several industries and regulatory bodies. Such novel in silico toxicology (IST) protocols, when fully developed and implemented, will ensure in silico toxicological assessments are performed and evaluated in a consistent, reproducible, and well-documented manner across industries and regulatory bodies to support wider uptake and acceptance of the approaches. The development of IST protocols is an initiative developed through a collaboration among an international consortium to reflect the state-of-the-art in in silico toxicology for hazard identification and characterization. A general outline for describing the development of such protocols is included and it is based on in silico predictions and/or available experimental data for a defined series of relevant toxicological effects or mechanisms. The publication presents a novel approach for determining the reliability of in silico predictions alongside experimental data. In addition, we discuss how to determine the level of confidence in the assessment based on the relevance and reliability of the information.

Potential impurities in drug substances: Compound-specific toxicology limits for 20 synthetic reagents and by-products, and a class-specific toxicology limit for alkyl bromides

ABSTRACT This paper provides compound‐specific toxicology limits for 20 widely used synthetic reagents and common by‐products that are potential impurities in drug substances. In addition, a 15 &mgr;g/day class‐specific limit was developed for monofunctional alkyl bromides, aligning this with the class‐specific limit previously defined for monofunctional alkyl chlorides. Both the compound‐ and class‐specific toxicology limits assume a lifetime chronic exposure for the general population (including sensitive subpopulations) by all routes of exposure for pharmaceuticals. Inhalation‐specific toxicology limits were also derived for acrolein, formaldehyde, and methyl bromide because of their localized toxicity via that route. Mode of action was an important consideration for a compound‐specific toxicology limit. Acceptable intake (AI) calculations for certain mutagenic carcinogens assumed a linear dose‐response for tumor induction, and permissible daily exposure (PDE) determination assumed a non‐linear dose‐response. Several compounds evaluated have been previously incorrectly assumed to be mutagenic, or to be mutagenic carcinogens, but the evidence reported here for such compounds indicates a lack of mutagenicity, and a non‐mutagenic mode of action for tumor induction. For non‐mutagens with insufficient data to develop a toxicology limit, the ICH Q3A qualification thresholds are recommended. The compound‐ and class‐specific toxicology limits described here may be adjusted for an individual drug substance based on treatment duration, dosing schedule, severity of the disease and therapeutic indication. HighlightsCompound‐specific toxicology limits were developed for common potential impurities in drug substances.A class‐specific limit of 15 &mgr;g/day was developed for monofunctional alkyl bromides.All compound‐specific toxicology limits were based on existing data, current regulatory guidance, and scientific knowledge.