The oral selective estrogen receptor degrader GDC-0810 (ARN-810) in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative (HR + /HER2 -) advanced/metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: GDC-0810 (ARN-810) is a novel, non-steroidal, orally bioavailable, selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) that potentially inhibits ligand-dependent and ligand-independent estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated signaling. METHODS: A phase Ia/Ib/IIa dose escalation, combination treatment with palbociclib or a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, and expansion study determined the safety, pharmacokinetics, and recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of GDC-0810 in postmenopausal women with ER + (HER2 -) locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Baseline plasma ctDNA samples were analyzed to determine the ESR1 mutation status. RESULTS: Patients (N = 152) received GDC-0810 100-800 mg once daily (QD) or 300-400 mg twice daily, in dose escalation, expansion, as single agent or combination treatment. Common adverse events regardless of attribution to study drug were diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, and constipation. There was one dose-limiting toxicity during dose escalation. The maximum tolerated dose was not reached. GDC-0810 600 mg QD taken with food was the RP2D. Pharmacokinetics were predictable. FES reduction (> 90%) highlighting pharmacodynamic engagement of ER was observed. Outcomes for the overall population and for patients with tumors harboring ESR1 mutations included partial responses (4% overall; 4% ESR1), stable disease (39% overall; 42% ESR1), non-complete response/non-progressive disease (13% overall; 12% ESR1), progressive disease (40% overall; 38% ESR1), and missing/unevaluable (5% overall; 5% ESR1). Clinical benefit (responses or SD, lasting ≥ 24 weeks) was observed in patients in dose escalation (n = 16, 39%) and expansion (n = 24, 22%). CONCLUSION: GDC-0810 was safe and tolerable with preliminary anti-tumor activity in heavily pretreated patients with ER + advanced/MBC, with/without ESR1 mutations, highlighting the potential for oral SERDs. Clinical Trial and registration date April 4, 2013. NCT01823835 .

GDC-0810 Pharmacokinetics and Transporter-Mediated Drug Interaction Evaluation with an Endogenous Biomarker in the First-in-Human, Dose Escalation Study.

GDC-0810 (Cheeti et al., 2018) is an orally bioavailable, selective estrogen receptor (ER) degrader developed to treat ER-positive breast cancer. A first-in-human (FIH) dose escalation phase I study (n = 41) was conducted to characterize the pharmacokinetics (PK) of GDC-0810 and its two major metabolites. GDC-0810 demonstrated linear PK from 100 to 600 mg given once daily. The mean terminal half-life following a single 600 mg dose was approximately 8 hours. Since GDC-0810 is a potent in vitro inhibitor of organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1/3, the kinetic profile of coproporphyrin I (CPI), a promising endogenous biomarker for OATP1B1/3, was analyzed retrospectively in a subset of the plasma samples collected in the same FIH study. CPI exhibited a GDC-0810 dose-dependent increase, suggesting in vivo inhibition of OATP1B transporters. To quantitatively predict the magnitude of OATP1B-mediated drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with pravastatin (a known OATP1B substrate), the in vivo unbound inhibition constant was first estimated using a one-compartment model, and then incorporated to a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model. The model showed some underestimation of the magnitude of the DDI when compared with a clinical DDI study result, while prediction had a relatively large uncertainty due to the small effect size, limited sample size, and variability in CPI kinetics. In conclusion, this study characterized the pharmacokinetic profiles of GDC-0810 in breast cancer patients and demonstrated the utility of CPI in detecting OATP1B-mediated DDIs of a new molecular entity as early as FIH study. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Endogenous biomarkers of transporters have recently been shown to be promising tools in evaluating the risk of clinical transporter-mediated DDIs. This is the first study to report a pharmacokinetic interaction between an investigational molecule and a transporter biomarker in a first-in-human study. The observed interaction and model-based analysis and the prediction provide important insights on the novel approach to quantitatively predict transporter-mediated DDIs as early as FIH studies in the clinical development.

Effect of Microenvironmental pH Modulation on the Dissolution Rate and Oral Absorption of the Salt of a Weak Acid - Case Study of GDC-0810.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of microenvironmental pH modulation on the in vitro dissolution rate and oral absorption of GDC-0810, an oral anti-cancer drug, in human. METHODS: The pH-solubility profile of GDC-0810 free acid and pHmax of its N-Methyl-D-glucamine (NMG) salt were determined. Precipitation studies were conducted for GDC-0810 NMG salt at different pH values. GDC-0810 200-mg dose NMG salt tablet formulations containing different levels of sodium bicarbonate as the pH modifier were tested for dissolution under the dual pH-dilution scheme. Three tablet formulations were evaluated in human as a part of a relative bioavailability study. A 200-mg dose of GDC-0810 was administered QD with low fat food. RESULTS: Intrinsic solubility of GDC-0810 free acid was found to be extremely low. The pHmax of the NMG salt suggested a strong tendency for form conversion to the free acid under GI conditions. In vitro dissolution profiles showed that the dissolution rate and extent of GDC-0810 increased with increasing the level of sodium bicarbonate in the formulation. The human PK data showed a similar trend for the geometric mean of Cmax and AUC0-t for formulations containing 5%, 10%, and 15% sodium bicarbonate, but the difference is not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Incorporation of a basic pH modifier, sodium bicarbonate, in GDC-0810 NMG salt tablet formulations enhanced in vitro dissolution rate of GDC-0810 via microenvironmental pH modulation. The human PK data showed no statistically significant difference in drug exposure from tablets containing 5%, 10%, and 15% sodium bicarbonate.

Application of a Novel 'Make and Test in Parallel' Strategy to Investigate the Effect of Formulation on the Pharmacokinetics of GDC-0810 in Healthy Subjects.

PURPOSE: GDC-0810, administered orally, was used in Phase I and II clinical studies to treat estrogen receptor positive breast cancers. It contains N-methyl-D-glucamine (NMG) salt of GDC-0810 with 10% sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) as a surfactant and 15% sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) as an alkalizing agent to aid dissolution. To improve the processability of the formulation and reduce potential mucosal irritation in future Phase III clinical studies, the salt form and the amount of excipient required further optimization. To achieve this, we employed a novel "Make and Test in Parallel" strategy that facilitated selecting formulation in a rapid timeframe. METHODS: RapidFACT®, a streamlined, data-driven drug product optimization platform was used to bridge Phase I/II and Phase III formulations of GDC-0810. Five prototype formulations, varying in either the form of active pharmaceutical ingredient and/or the levels of the excipients SLS and NaHCO3 were assessed. Uniquely, the specific compositions of formulations manufactured and dosed were selected in real-time from emerging clinical data. RESULTS: The study successfully identified a Phase III formulation with a reduced SLS content, which when administered following a low-fat meal, gave comparable pharmacokinetic exposure to the Phase I/II formulation administered under the same conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our novel 'Make and Test in Parallel' approach enabled optimization of GDC-0810 formulation in a time- and cost-efficient fashion.

Correction to: Application of a Novel 'Make and Test in Parallel' Strategy to Investigate the Effect of Formulation on the Pharmacokinetics of GDC-0810 in Healthy Subjects.

The Publisher regrets the typesetting mistake of retaining incorrect text in the Figure 1 caption. The correct text for the caption is "Molecular Structure of GDC-0810 NMG Salt". The original article has been corrected.

Predicting overall survival from tumor dynamics metrics using parametric statistical and machine learning models: application to patients with RET-altered solid tumors.

In oncology drug development, tumor dynamics modeling is widely applied to predict patients' overall survival (OS) via parametric models. However, the current modeling paradigm, which assumes a disease-specific link between tumor dynamics and survival, has its limitations. This is particularly evident in drug development scenarios where the clinical trial under consideration contains patients with tumor types for which there is little to no prior institutional data. In this work, we propose the use of a pan-indication solid tumor machine learning (ML) approach whereby all three tumor metrics (tumor shrinkage rate, tumor regrowth rate and time to tumor growth) are simultaneously used to predict patients' OS in a tumor type independent manner. We demonstrate the utility of this approach in a clinical trial of cancer patients treated with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, pralsetinib. We compared the parametric and ML models and the results showed that the proposed ML approach is able to adequately predict patient OS across RET-altered solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer, medullary thyroid cancer as well as other solid tumors. While the findings of this study are promising, further research is needed for evaluating the generalizability of the ML model to other solid tumor types.

Understanding CYP3A4 and P-gp mediated drug-drug interactions through PBPK modeling - Case example of pralsetinib.

Pralsetinib, a potent and selective inhibitor of oncogenic RET fusion and RET mutant proteins, is a substrate of the drug metabolizing enzyme CYP3A4 and a substrate of the efflux transporter P-gp based on in vitro data. Therefore, its pharmacokinetics (PKs) may be affected by co-administration of potent CYP3A4 inhibitors and inducers, P-gp inhibitors, and combined CYP3A4 and P-gp inhibitors. With the frequent overlap between CYP3A4 and P-gp substrates/inhibitors, pralsetinib is a challenging and representative example of the need to more quantitatively characterize transporter-enzyme interplay. A physiologically-based PK (PBPK) model for pralsetinib was developed to understand the victim drug-drug interaction (DDI) risk for pralsetinib. The key parameters driving the magnitude of pralsetinib DDIs, the P-gp intrinsic clearance and the fraction metabolized by CYP3A4, were determined from PBPK simulations that best captured observed DDIs from three clinical studies. Sensitivity analyses and scenario simulations were also conducted to ensure these key parameters were determined with sound mechanistic rationale based on current knowledge, including the worst-case scenarios. The verified pralsetinib PBPK model was then applied to predict the effect of other inhibitors and inducers on the PKs of pralsetinib. This work highlights the challenges in understanding DDIs when enzyme-transporter interplay occurs, and demonstrates an important strategy for differentiating enzyme/transporter contributions to enable PBPK predictions for untested scenarios and to inform labeling.

Integrating Dynamic in vitro Systems and Mechanistic Absorption Modeling: Case Study of Pralsetinib.

Dynamic in vitro absorption systems and mechanistic absorption modeling via PBPK have both shown promise in predicting human oral absorption, although these efforts have been largely separate; this work aimed to integrate knowledge from these approaches to investigate the oral absorption of a RET inhibitor, pralsetinib, with BCS Class II properties. Tiny-TIM (TIM B.V., Weteringbrug​, The Netherlands) is a dynamic in vitro model with close simulation of the successive physiological conditions of the human stomach and small intestine. Tiny-TIM runs with pralsetinib were performed at doses of 200 mg and 400 mg under fasting conditions. Mechanistic modeling of absorption was performed in Simcyp V21 (Certara, Manchester, UK). Pralsetinib fasted bioaccessibility in the Tiny-TIM system was 63% at 200 mg and 53% at 400 mg; a 16% reduction at 400 mg was observed under elevated gastric pH. Maximum pralsetinib solubility from the small intestinal compartment in Tiny-TIM directly informed the supersaturation/precipitation model parameters. The PBPK model predicted a similar fraction absorbed at 200 mg and 400 mg, consistent with the dose proportional increases in observed pralsetinib exposure. Integrating dynamic in vitro systems with mechanistic absorption modeling provides a promising approach for understanding and predicting human absorption with challenging low solubility compounds.

Exploring the Impact of Hepatic Impairment on Pralsetinib Pharmacokinetics.

Pralsetinib is a kinase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of metastatic rearranged during transfection (RET) fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Pralsetinib is primarily eliminated by the liver and hence hepatic impairment (HI) is likely alter its pharmacokinetics (PK). Mild HI has been shown to have minimal impact on the PK of pralsetinib. This hepatic impairment study aimed to determine the pralsetinib PK, safety and tolerability in subjects with moderate and severe HI, as defined by the Child-Pugh and National Cancer Institute Organ Dysfunction Working Group (NCI-ODWG) classification systems, in comparison to subjects with normal hepatic function. Based on the Child-Pugh classification, subjects with moderate and severe HI had similar systemic exposure (area under the plasma concentration time curve from time 0 to infinity [AUC0-∞]) to pralsetinib, with AUC0-∞ geometric mean ratios (GMR) of 1.12 and 0.858, respectively, compared to subjects with normal hepatic function. Results based on the NCI-ODWG classification criteria were comparable; the AUC0-∞ GMR were 1.22 and 0.858, respectively, for subjects with moderate and severe HI per NCI-ODWG versus those with normal hepatic function. These results suggested that moderate and severe hepatic impairment did not have a meaningful impact on the exposure to pralsetinib, thus not warranting a dose adjustment in this population.

Impact of P-gp inhibition on systemic exposure of pralsetinib and dosing considerations.

A study to determine the impact of cyclosporine (Neoral), an inhibitor of P-gp, on the pharmacokinetics of pralsetinib (trade name GAVRETO®) was conducted in 15 healthy adult volunteers. A single 200 mg dose of pralsetinib was administered orally alone and in combination with cyclosporine with a 9-day washout between treatments. Co-administration with cyclosporine resulted in a clinically relevant increase in pralsetinib maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under the plasma concentration-time curve extrapolated to infinity (AUC0-∞) with associated geometric mean ratios (GMRs) and 90% confidence intervals (CIs) of 148% (109, 201) and 181% (136, 241), respectively. These findings provide insight into concomitant dosing of pralsetinib with inhibitors of P-gp given the increases in pralsetinib exposure observed when administered with cyclosporine. Based on these results, co-administration of pralsetinib with P-gp inhibitors is not recommended. In the event that co-administration cannot be avoided, it is recommended that the dose of pralsetinib be reduced.

Exposure-Response Relationships for Pralsetinib in Patients with RET-Altered Thyroid Cancer or RET Fusion-Positive Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer.

Pralsetinib is a highly potent oral kinase inhibitor of oncogenic RET (rearranged during transfection) fusions and mutations. Pralsetinib received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with metastatic RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and received accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with RET fusion-positive thyroid cancer. Exposure-response (ER) analyses of efficacy were performed separately in patients with thyroid cancer and in patients with NSCLC, but data for all patients were pooled for the safety analysis. ER models were developed with time-varying exposure; the effect of covariates was also examined. For patients with NSCLC, a higher starting dose was associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS), but this improvement did not correlate with a higher exposure overall. Significant covariates included sex and baseline Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score. For patients with thyroid cancer, a higher exposure was associated with improved PFS. Significant covariates included prior systemic cancer therapy and ECOG score. For safety, higher exposure was associated with a greater risk of grade ≥3 anemia, pneumonia, and lymphopenia. Patients with an ECOG score of ≥1 had an increased risk of grade ≥3 pneumonia. Non-White patients had a lower risk of grade ≥3 lymphopenia. ER analysis revealed that higher pralsetinib exposure was associated with improved PFS in thyroid cancer, but not in NSCLC. However, a higher starting dose (ie, 400 vs ≤300 mg daily) was correlated with better PFS for all indications. Higher exposure was also associated with an increased risk of grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs); however, the overall incidence of these events was acceptably low (≤20%). This analysis supports the use of a 400 mg starting dose of pralsetinib, allowing for dose reduction in the event of AEs.

Phase I/Ib Trial of Inavolisib Plus Palbociclib and Endocrine Therapy for PIK3CA-Mutated, Hormone Receptor-Positive, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Negative Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer.

PURPOSE: To investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and preliminary antitumor activity of inavolisib, a potent and selective small-molecule inhibitor of p110α that promotes the degradation of mutated p110α, in combination with palbociclib and endocrine therapy (ET), in a phase I/Ib study in patients with PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative locally advanced/metastatic breast cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03006172). METHODS: Women ≥18 years of age received inavolisib, palbociclib, and letrozole (Inavo + Palbo + Letro arm) or fulvestrant (Inavo + Palbo + Fulv arm) until unacceptable toxicity or disease progression. The primary objective was to evaluate safety or tolerability. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients were included, 33 in the Inavo + Palbo + Letro arm and 20 in the Inavo + Palbo + Fulv arm. Median duration of inavolisib treatment was 15.7 and 20.8 months (cutoff: March 27, 2023), respectively. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in all patients; the most frequent were stomatitis, hyperglycemia, and diarrhea; grade ≥3 any TRAE rates were 87.9% and 85.0%; 6.1% and 10.0% discontinued any treatment due to TRAEs in the Inavo + Palbo + Letro and Inavo + Palbo + Fulv arms, respectively. No PK drug-drug interactions (DDIs) were observed among the study treatments when administered. Confirmed objective response rates were 52.0% and 40.0% in patients with measurable disease, and median progression-free survival was 23.3 and 35.0 months in the Inavo + Palbo + Letro and Inavo + Palbo + Fulv arms, respectively. Available paired pre- and on-treatment tumor tissue and circulating tumor DNA analyses confirmed the effects of study treatment on pharmacodynamic and pathophysiologic biomarkers of response. CONCLUSION: Inavolisib plus palbociclib and ET demonstrated a manageable safety profile, lack of DDIs, and promising preliminary antitumor activity.

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) approach to evaluate pharmacokinetics in patients with cancer.

Potential differences in pharmacokinetics (PK) between healthy subjects and patients with cancer were investigated using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic approach integrating demographic and physiological data from patients with cancer. Demographic data such as age, sex and body weight, and clinical laboratory measurements such as albumin, alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AAG) and hematocrit were collected in ~2500 patients with cancer. A custom oncology population profile was built using the observed relationships among demographic variables and laboratory measurements in Simcyp® software, a population based ADME simulator. Patients with cancer were older compared with the age distribution in a built-in healthy volunteer profile in Simcyp. Hematocrit and albumin levels were lower and AAG levels were higher in patients with cancer. The custom population profile was used to investigate the disease effect on the pharmacokinetics of two probe substrates, saquinavir and midazolam. Higher saquinavir exposure was predicted in patients relative to healthy subjects, which was explained by the altered drug binding due to elevated AAG levels in patients with cancer. Consistent with historical clinical data, similar midazolam exposure was predicted in patients and healthy subjects, supporting the hypothesis that the CYP3A activity is not altered in patients with cancer. These results suggest that the custom oncology population profile is a promising tool for the prediction of PK in patients with cancer. Further evaluation and extension of this population profile with more compounds and more data will be needed.

An Open-label Phase I Study of GDC-0927 in Postmenopausal Women with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer.

PURPOSE: GDC-0927 is a novel, potent, nonsteroidal, orally bioavailable, selective estrogen receptor (ER) degrader that induces tumor regression in ER+ breast cancer xenograft models. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This phase I dose-escalation multicenter study enrolled postmenopausal women with ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer to determine the safety, pharmacokinetics, and recommended phase II dose of GDC-0927. Pharmacodynamics was assessed with [18F]-fluoroestradiol (FES) PET scans. RESULTS: Forty-two patients received GDC-0927 once daily. The MTD was not reached. The most common adverse events (AE) regardless of causality were nausea, constipation, diarrhea, arthralgia, fatigue, hot flush, back pain, and vomiting. There were no deaths, grade 4/5 AEs, or treatment-related serious AEs. Two patients experienced grade 2 AEs of special interest of deep vein thrombosis and jugular vein thrombosis, both considered unrelated to GDC-0927. Following dosing, approximately 1.6-fold accumulation was observed, consistent with the observed half-life and dosing frequency. There were no complete or partial responses. Pharmacodynamics was supported by >90% reduction in FES uptake and an approximately 40% reduction in ER expression, suggesting ER degradation is not the mechanistic driver of ER antagonism. Twelve patients (29%) achieved clinical benefit; 17 patients (41%) showed a confirmed best overall response of stable disease. Baseline levels of ER and progesterone receptor protein and mutant ESR1 circulating tumor DNA did not correlate with clinical benefit. CONCLUSIONS: GDC-0927 appeared to be well tolerated with pharmacokinetics supporting once-daily dosing. There was evidence of target engagement and preliminary evidence of antitumor activity in heavily pretreated patients with advanced/metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancer with and without ESR1 mutations.

Cobimetinib in Pediatric and Young Adult Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Solid Tumors (iMATRIX-cobi): A Multicenter, Phase I/II Study.

BACKGROUND: The MAPK pathway is an emerging target across a number of adult and pediatric tumors. Targeting the downstream effector of MAPK, MEK1, is a proposed strategy to control the growth of MAPK-dependent tumors. OBJECTIVE: iMATRIX-cobi assessed the safety, pharmacokinetics, and anti-tumor activity of cobimetinib, a highly selective MEK inhibitor, in children and young adults with relapsed/refractory solid tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This multicenter Phase I/II study enrolled patients aged 6 months to < 30 years with solid tumors with known/expected MAPK pathway involvement. Patients received cobimetinib tablet or suspension formulation on Days 1-21 of a 28-day cycle. Dose escalation followed a rolling 6 design. The primary endpoint was safety; secondary endpoints were pharmacokinetics and anti-tumor activity. RESULTS: Of 56 enrolled patients (median age 9 years [range 3-29]), 18 received cobimetinib tablets and 38 cobimetinib suspension. Most common diagnoses were low-grade glioma (LGG; n = 32, including n = 12 in the expansion cohort) and plexiform neurofibroma within neurofibromatosis type 1 (n = 12). Six patients (11 %) experienced dose-limiting toxicities (including five ocular toxicity events), which established a pediatric recommended Phase II dose (RP2D) of 0.8 mg/kg tablet and 1.0 mg/kg suspension. Most frequently reported treatment-related adverse events were gastrointestinal and skin disorders. Steady state mean exposure (Cmax, AUC0-24) of cobimetinib at the RP2D (1.0 mg/kg suspension) was ~ 50 % lower than in adults receiving the approved 60 mg/day dose. Overall response rate was 5.4 % (3/56; all partial responses in patients with LGG). CONCLUSIONS: The safety profile of cobimetinib in pediatrics was similar to that reported in adults. Clinical activity was observed in LGG patients with known/suspected MAPK pathway activation. Cobimetinib combination regimens may be required to improve response rates in this pediatric population. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02639546, registered December 24, 2015.

A Phase 1 study of GDC-0134, a dual leucine zipper kinase inhibitor, in ALS.

OBJECTIVE: Dual leucine zipper kinase (DLK), which regulates the c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway involved in axon degeneration and apoptosis following neuronal injury, is a potential therapeutic target in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This first-in-human study investigated safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of oral GDC-0134, a small-molecule DLK inhibitor. Plasma neurofilament light chain (NFL) levels were explored in GDC-0134-treated ALS patients and DLK conditional knockout (cKO) mice. METHODS: The study included placebo-controlled, single and multiple ascending-dose (SAD; MAD) stages, and an open-label safety expansion (OLE) with adaptive dosing for up to 48 weeks. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients were enrolled. GDC-0134 (up to 1200 mg daily) was well tolerated in the SAD and MAD stages, with no serious adverse events (SAEs). In the OLE, three study drug-related SAEs occurred: thrombocytopenia, dysesthesia (both Grade 3), and optic ischemic neuropathy (Grade 4); Grade ≤2 sensory neurological AEs led to dose reductions/discontinuations. GDC-0134 exposure was dose-proportional (median half-life = 84 h). Patients showed GDC-0134 exposure-dependent plasma NFL elevations; DLK cKO mice also exhibited plasma NFL compared to wild-type littermates. INTERPRETATION: This trial characterized GDC-0134 safety and PK, but no adequately tolerated dose was identified. NFL elevations in GDC-0134-treated patients and DLK cKO mice raised questions about interpretation of biomarkers affected by both disease and on-target drug effects. The safety profile of GDC-0134 was considered unacceptable and led to discontinuation of further drug development for ALS. Further work is necessary to understand relationships between neuroprotective and potentially therapeutic effects of DLK knockout/inhibition and NFL changes in patients with ALS.

Effect of Hepatic Impairment on Cobimetinib Pharmacokinetics: The Complex Interplay Between Physiological Changes and Drug Characteristics.

Cobimetinib is a kinase inhibitor indicated for use in combination with vemurafenib for treatment of unresectable/metastatic melanoma with specific BRAF mutations. Cobimetinib is extensively metabolized in liver; thus, patients with hepatic impairment (HI) might have increased cobimetinib exposure. In this study, we investigated the impact of HI on the pharmacokinetics (PK) and safety of cobimetinib. Subjects with normal hepatic function and mild to severe HI were enrolled. All subjects received a single oral dose of 10 mg cobimetinib, and serial blood samples were collected at specified times. Cobimetinib PK in subjects with mild and moderate HI was similar to that in those with normal liver function. However, subjects with severe HI, on average, showed ∼30% lower total AUC0-∞ and ∼2-fold higher unbound AUC0-∞ compared with those with normal hepatic function. These exposure differences can be explained by lower albumin levels observed in subjects with severe HI, the strong correlation between albumin level and the unbound fraction and the general PK variability of cobimetinib. In addition, previous studies with cobimetinib showed a lack of an exposure-response relationship for efficacy and safety. Therefore, collectively, our results suggest that the starting dose for patients with hepatic impairment can be the same as that for those with normal hepatic function.

The involvement of intracellular calcium in the MCT-mediated uptake of lactic acid by HeLa cells.

The main object of this study was to evaluate the role of intracellular free calcium ion [Ca2+](in) in monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) mediated drug uptake by HeLa cells. It was hypothesized that alterations in the [Ca2+](in) levels affect Na+-H+ exchanger (NHE) regulated pH(in) and thereby produce the proton-motivated driving force for monocarboxylate mediated substrate transport. The changes in intracellular pH (pH(in)) and MCT mediated uptake rates of L-lactic acid by HeLa cells, a human cervical adenocarcinoma cell line, were evaluated under the conditions, whose [Ca2+](in) concentrations were altered by various calcium modulators, such as EGTA-AM (a chelator), nifedipine (a Ca2+ channel antagonist) and A23187 (an ionophore). For the purpose of comparison, the L-lactic acid uptake by HeLa cells was also evaluated under various pH(in) conditions induced by dexamethasone. The effects of the extracellular sodium concentration on the L-lactic acid uptake by HeLa cells were evaluated to determine the involvement of NHE-regulated pH changes in the MCT mediated drug uptake process. The [Ca2+](in) concentrations and pH(in) in HeLa were assessed using fluorescent probes fura-2 and 2',7'-bis[2-carboxyethyl-5-carboxyfluorescein] (BCECF), respectively. The treatment of HeLa cells with A23187 at concentrations of 50 and 100 microM enhanced [Ca2+](in) by 100% and 200% of the control, respectively. EGTA/AM (50 microM) or nifedipine (100 microM) did not cause any significant changes in the [Ca2+](in) levels, whereas EGTA/AM (100 microM) and nifedipine (200 microM) reduced the [Ca2+](in) levels by 30% and 25%, respectively, as compared with the control. A23187 at a concentration of 100 microM in the incubation medium lowered pH(in) (pH 5) and subsequently the uptake rate of lactic acid by 50% (0.47 +/- 0.03 micromol/mg protein/min) of the control. In contrast, nifedipine (200 microM) and EGTA-AM (100 microM), the calcium modulators that lowered the [Ca2+](in) levels and maintained the higher pH(in) (pH > 6) of HeLa cells, enhanced the uptake rate of lactic acid by 60% and 130% of the control, respectively. The results of this study demonstrated that there was a close correlation between the [Ca2+](in) level and pH(in) and that NHEs were involved with the MCT mediated uptake process in HeLa cells. An understanding of the role of [Ca2+](in) in the MCT mediated transport process could provide an efficient strategy to improve the systemic delivery of monocarboxylate substrates through the cervical mucosa.

A diaminocyclohexyl analog of SNS-032 with improved permeability and bioavailability properties.

The identification of a selective CDK2, 7, 9 inhibitor 4 with improved permeability is described. Compound 4 exhibits comparable CDK selectivity profile to SNS-032, but shows improved permeability and higher bioavailability in mice.