Dystrophin and mini-dystrophin quantification by mass spectrometry in skeletal muscle for gene therapy development in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a lethal, degenerative muscle disorder caused by mutations in the DMD gene, leading to severe reduction or absence of the protein dystrophin. Gene therapy strategies that aim to increase expression of a functional dystrophin protein (mini-dystrophin) are under investigation. The ability to accurately quantify dystrophin/mini-dystrophin is essential in assessing the level of gene transduction. We demonstrated the validation and application of a novel peptide immunoaffinity liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (IA-LC-MS/MS) assay. Data showed that dystrophin expression in Becker muscular dystrophy and DMD tissues, normalized against the mean of non-dystrophic control tissues (n = 20), was 4-84.5% (mean 32%, n = 20) and 0.4-24.1% (mean 5%, n = 20), respectively. In a DMD rat model, biceps femoris tissue from dystrophin-deficient rats treated with AAV9.hCK.Hopti-Dys3978.spA, an adeno-associated virus vector containing a mini-dystrophin transgene, showed a dose-dependent increase in mini-dystrophin expression at 6 months post-dose, exceeding wildtype dystrophin levels at high doses. Validation data showed that inter- and intra-assay precision were ≤20% (≤25% at the lower limit of quantification [LLOQ]) and inter- and intra-run relative error was within ±20% (±25% at LLOQ). IA-LC-MS/MS accurately quantifies dystrophin/mini-dystrophin in human and preclinical species with sufficient sensitivity for immediate application in preclinical/clinical trials.

The Interleukin-1 Receptor-Associated Kinase 4 Inhibitor PF-06650833 Blocks Inflammation in Preclinical Models of Rheumatic Disease and in Humans Enrolled in a Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of PF-06650833, a highly potent and selective small-molecule inhibitor of interleukin-1-associated kinase 4 (IRAK4), in autoimmune pathophysiology in vitro, in vivo, and in the clinical setting. METHODS: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) inflammatory pathophysiology was modeled in vitro through 1) stimulation of primary human macrophages with anti-citrullinated protein antibody immune complexes (ICs), 2) RA fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) cultures stimulated with Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands, as well as 3) additional human primary cell cocultures exposed to inflammatory stimuli. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathophysiology was simulated in human neutrophils, dendritic cells, B cells, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with TLR ligands and SLE patient ICs. PF-06650833 was evaluated in vivo in the rat collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model and the mouse pristane-induced and MRL/lpr models of lupus. Finally, RNA sequencing data generated with whole blood samples from a phase I multiple-ascending-dose clinical trial of PF-06650833 were used to test in vivo human pharmacology. RESULTS: In vitro, PF-06650833 inhibited human primary cell inflammatory responses to physiologically relevant stimuli generated with RA and SLE patient plasma. In vivo, PF-06650833 reduced circulating autoantibody levels in the pristane-induced and MRL/lpr murine models of lupus and protected against CIA in rats. In a phase I clinical trial (NCT02485769), PF-06650833 demonstrated in vivo pharmacologic action pertinent to SLE by reducing whole blood interferon gene signature expression in healthy volunteers. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that inhibition of IRAK4 kinase activity can reduce levels of inflammation markers in humans and provide confidence in the rationale for clinical development of IRAK4 inhibitors for rheumatologic indications.

Biomeasures and mechanistic modeling highlight PK/PD risks for a monoclonal antibody targeting Fn14 in kidney disease.

Discovery of the upregulation of fibroblast growth factor-inducible-14 (Fn14) receptor following tissue injury has prompted investigation into biotherapeutic targeting of the Fn14 receptor for the treatment of conditions such as chronic kidney diseases. In the development of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutics, there is an increasing trend to use biomeasures combined with mechanistic pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) modeling to enable decision making in early discovery. With the aim of guiding preclinical efforts on designing an antibody with optimized properties, we developed a mechanistic site-of-action (SoA) PK/PD model for human application. This model incorporates experimental biomeasures, including concentration of soluble Fn14 (sFn14) in human plasma and membrane Fn14 (mFn14) in human kidney tissue, and turnover rate of human sFn14. Pulse-chase studies using stable isotope-labeled amino acids and mass spectrometry indicated the sFn14 half-life to be approximately 5 hours in healthy volunteers. The biomeasures (concentration, turnover) of sFn14 in plasma reveals a significant hurdle in designing an antibody against Fn14 with desired characteristics. The projected dose (>1 mg/kg/wk for 90% target coverage) derived from the human PK/PD model revealed potential high and frequent dosing requirements under certain conditions. The PK/PD model suggested a unique bell-shaped relationship between target coverage and antibody affinity for anti-Fn14 mAb, which could be applied to direct the antibody engineering towards an optimized affinity. This investigation highlighted potential applications, including assessment of PK/PD risks during early target validation, human dose prediction and drug candidate optimization.

Current advances in delivery of biotherapeutics across the blood-brain barrier.

Significant efforts through genomic approaches have been dedicated toward the identification of novel protein-protein interactions as promising therapeutic targets for indications such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and neuropsychiatric disorders. Additionally, the number of biotherapeutic agents entering the Pharmaceutical sector continues to increase and according to EvaluatePharma's "World Preview 2014" report, "the compounded annual growth rate of biologics is expected to be 8.5 percent from 2008-2014, eight to 10 times greater than the growth rate of small molecules". However, there are limited examples of success in developing biotherapeutic modalities for central nervous system (CNS) diseases in the drug development pipeline. A primary reason for the lack of application of biotherapeutics to neuroscience targets, is that the blood-brain barrier (BBB) isolates and protects CNS structures creating a unique biochemically and immunologically privileged environment, therefore passage of macromolecules across this barrier has additional challenges. An understanding of the anatomical and physiological properties of this barrier with respect to penetration of biotherapeutics is presented in this review document. In this summary, recent advances in biotherapeutic delivery mechanisms across the BBB including transcranial brain drug delivery, focused ultrasound technology, nasal delivery, absorptive endocytosis, and receptor mediated endocytosis are evaluated using an industrial perspective. With acknowledgement that each approach has advantages and disadvantages, this review discusses the opportunities and challenges that are encountered during application of these methods across a variety of therapeutic areas such as, pain, obesity, neuroscience, and oncology. Utilizing an industrial perspective, including consideration of cost of goods and commercial feasibility for these approaches, this review highlights technology features which would enable industry investments toward novel BBB delivery technologies for biologics. Through continued development and improvement of such technology, new therapeutic options to treat and potentially cure central nervous system diseases could eventually evolve.

Discovery of a potent and selective inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6.

A pharmacological approach to inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (Cdk4/6) using highly selective small molecule inhibitors has the potential to provide novel cancer therapies for clinical use. Achieving high levels of selectivity for Cdk4/6, versus other ATP-dependent kinases, presents a significant challenge. The pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7-one template provides an effective platform for the inhibition of a broad cross-section of kinases, including Cdks. It is now demonstrated that the modification of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7-ones to include a 2-aminopyridine side chain at the C2-position provides inhibitors with exquisite selectivity for Cdk4/6 in vitro. This selectivity profile is recapitulated in cells where the most selective inhibitors create a G(1) block at concentrations up to 100-fold the IC(50) for cell proliferation. On the basis of its selectivity profile and pharmacokinetic profile, compound 43 (PD 0332991) was identified as a drug candidate for the treatment of cancer.