Thomas J. Bateman

Application of chimeric mice with humanized liver for study of human-specific drug metabolism.

Human-specific or disproportionately abundant human metabolites of drug candidates that are not adequately formed and qualified in preclinical safety assessment species pose an important drug development challenge. Furthermore, the overall metabolic profile of drug candidates in humans is an important determinant of their drug-drug interaction susceptibility. These risks can be effectively assessed and/or mitigated if human metabolic profile of the drug candidate could reliably be determined in early development. However, currently available in vitro human models (e.g., liver microsomes, hepatocytes) are often inadequate in this regard. Furthermore, the conduct of definitive radiolabeled human ADME studies is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor that is more suited for later in development when the risk of failure has been reduced. We evaluated a recently developed chimeric mouse model with humanized liver on uPA/SCID background for its ability to predict human disposition of four model drugs (lamotrigine, diclofenac, MRK-A, and propafenone) that are known to exhibit human-specific metabolism. The results from these studies demonstrate that chimeric mice were able to reproduce the human-specific metabolite profile for lamotrigine, diclofenac, and MRK-A. In the case of propafenone, however, the human-specific metabolism was not detected as a predominant pathway, and the metabolite profiles in native and humanized mice were similar; this was attributed to the presence of residual highly active propafenone-metabolizing mouse enzymes in chimeric mice. Overall, the data indicate that the chimeric mice with humanized liver have the potential to be a useful tool for the prediction of human-specific metabolism of xenobiotics and warrant further investigation.

Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists: Identification of heterocyclic amide replacements in the oxazolidinedione series

Novel potent and selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists were identified, utilizing heterocyclic amide replacements in the oxazolidinedione series. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) efforts focused on improving lipophilic ligand efficiency (LLE) while maintaining nuclear hormone receptor selectivity and reasonable pharmacokinetic profiles.

Lymphatic Absorption, Metabolism, and Excretion of a Therapeutic Peptide in Dogs and Rats

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the mechanism of absorption and metabolism of a PEGylated peptide, MRL-1 (46 kDa), after s.c. dosing in dogs and rats. Thoracic lymph duct-cannulated (LDC) dog and rat models were developed that allowed continuous collection of lymph for up to 8 days. When [3H]MRL-1 was administered s.c. to LDC dogs, ∼73% of the administered radioactivity was recovered in pooled lymph over a period of 120 hours, suggesting that lymphatic uptake is the major pathway of s.c. absorption for this peptide. In agreement with these data, the systemic exposure of radioactivity related to [3H]MRL-1 in LDC dogs was decreased proportionately when compared with that in noncannulated control dogs. After i.v. dosing with [3H]MRL-1 in LDC dogs, 20% of the administered radioactivity was recovered in pooled lymph over 168 hours, suggesting some level of recirculation of radioactivity related to [3H]MRL-1 from the plasma compartment into the lymphatic system. Experiments conducted in the LDC rat model also resulted in similar conclusions. Analysis of injection site s.c. tissue showed significant metabolism of [3H]MRL-1, which provides an explanation for the <100% bioavailability of therapeutic proteins and peptides after s.c. dosing. After s.c. dosing, the major circulating components in plasma were the parent peptide and the PEG-linker [3H]MRL-2. The metabolism profiles in lymph were similar to those in plasma, suggesting that the loss of peptide was minimal during lymphatic transport. After i.v. dosing in rats, [3H]MRL-1 was metabolized and excreted primarily in the urine as metabolites.

Discovery of imidazole carboxamides as potent and selective CCK1R agonists

High-throughput screening revealed diaryl pyrazole 3 as a selective albeit modest cholecystokinin 1 receptor (CCK1R) agonist. SAR studies led to the discovery and optimization of a novel class of 1,2-diaryl imidazole carboxamides. Compound 44, which was profiled extensively, showed good in vivo mouse gallbladder emptying (mGBE) and lean mouse overnight food intake (ONFI) reduction activities.

Discovery of novel oxazolidinedione derivatives as potent and selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists.

Novel oxazolidinedione analogs were discovered as potent and selective mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies were focused on improving the potency and microsomal stability. Selected compounds demonstrated excellent MR activity, reasonable nuclear hormone receptor selectivity, and acceptable rat pharmacokinetics.

Glutathione S-transferase Catalyzed Desulfonylation of a Sulfonylfuropyridine

MRL-1, a cannabinoid receptor-1 inverse agonist, was a member of a lead candidate series for the treatment of obesity. In rats, MRL-1 is eliminated mainly via metabolism, followed by excretion of the metabolites into bile. The major metabolite M1, a glutathione conjugate of MRL-1, was isolated and characterized by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopic methods. The data suggest that the t-butylsulfonyl group at C-2 of furopyridine was displaced by the glutathionyl group. In vitro experiments using rat and monkey liver microsomes in the presence of reduced glutathione (GSH) showed that the formation of M1 was independent of NADPH and molecular oxygen, suggesting that this reaction was not mediated by an oxidative reaction and a glutathione S-transferase (GST) was likely involved in catalyzing this reaction. Furthermore, a rat hepatic GST was capable of catalyzing the conversion of MRL-1 to M1 in the presence of GSH. When a close analog of MRL-1, a p-chlorobenzenesulfonyl furopyridine derivative (MRL-2), was incubated with rat liver microsomes in the presence of GSH, p-chlorobenzene sulfinic acid (M2) was also identified as a product in addition to the expected M1. Based on these data, a mechanism is proposed involving direct nucleophilic addition of GSH to sulfonylfuropyridine, resulting in an unstable adduct that spontaneously decomposes to form M1 and M2.

Development of a novel tricyclic class of potent and selective FIXa inhibitors.

Using structure based drug design, a novel class of potent coagulation factor IXa (FIXa) inhibitors was designed and synthesized. High selectivity over FXa inhibition was achieved. Selected compounds were evaluated in rat IV/PO pharmacokinetic (PK) studies and demonstrated desirable oral PK profiles. Finally, the pharmacodynamics (PD) of this class of molecules were evaluated in thrombin generation assay (TGA) in Corn Trypsin Inhibitor (CTI) citrated human plasma and demonstrated characteristics of a FIXa inhibitor.

Development of a novel class of potent and selective FIXa inhibitors

Using structure based drug design (SBDD), a novel class of potent coagulation Factor IXa (FIXa) inhibitors was designed and synthesized. High selectivity over FXa inhibition was achieved. Selected compounds demonstrated oral bioavailability in rat IV/PO pharmacokinetic (PK) studies. Finally, the pharmacodynamics (PD) of this class of molecules was evaluated in Thrombin Generation Assay (TGA) in Corn Trypsin Inhibitor (CTI) citrated human plasma and demonstrated characteristics of a FIXa inhibitor.

Synthesis and evaluation of N-[(1S,2S)-3-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-(3-cyanophenyl)-1-methylpropyl]-2-methyl-2-aminopropanamide as human cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1R) inverse agonists

Obesity is a chronic medical condition that is affecting large population throughout the world. CB1 as a target for treatment of obesity has been under intensive studies. Taranabant was discovered and then developed by Merck as the 1st generation CB1R inverse agonist. Reported here is part of our effort on the 2nd generation of CB1R inverse agonist from the acyclic amide scaffold. We replaced the oxygen linker in taranabant with nitrogen and prepared a series of amino heterocyclic analogs through a divergent synthesis. Although in general, the amine linker gave reduced binding affinity, potent and selective CB1R inverse agonist was identified from the amino heterocycle series. Molecular modeling was applied to study the binding of the amino heterocycle series at CB1 binding site. The in vitro metabolism of representative members was studied and only trace glucuronidation was found. Thus, it suggests that the right hand side of the molecule may not be the appropriate site for glucuronidation.

Preclinical and translational evaluation of coagulation factor IXa as a novel therapeutic target

The benefits of novel oral anticoagulants are hampered by bleeding. Since coagulation factor IX (fIX) lies upstream of fX in the coagulation cascade, and intermediate levels have been associated with reduced incidence of thrombotic events, we evaluated the viability of fIXa as an antithrombotic target. We applied translational pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) principles to predict the therapeutic window (TW) associated with a selective small molecule inhibitor (SMi) of fIXa, compound 1 (CPD1, rat fIXa inhibition constant (Ki, 21 nmol/L) relative to clinically relevant exposures of apixaban (rat fXa Ki 4.3 nmol/L). Concentrations encompassing the minimal clinical plasma concentration (Cmin) of the 5 mg twice daily (BID) dose of apixaban were tested in rat arteriovenous shunt (AVS/thrombosis) and cuticle bleeding time (CBT) models. An Imax and a linear model were used to fit clot weight (CW) and CBT. The following differences in biology were observed: (1) antithrombotic activity and bleeding increased in parallel for apixaban, but to a lesser extent for CPD1 and (2) antithrombotic activity occurred at high (>99%) enzyme occupancy (EO) for fXa or moderate (>65% EO) for fIXa. translational PK/PD analysis indicated that noninferiority was observed for concentrations of CPD1 that provided between 86% and 96% EO and that superior TW existed between 86% and 90% EO. These findings were confirmed in a study comparing short interfering (si)RNA‐mediated knockdown (KD) modulation of fIX and fX mRNA. In summary, using principles of translational biology to relate preclinical markers of efficacy and safety to clinical doses of apixaban, we found that modulation of fIXa can be superior to apixaban.