Discovery of Darovasertib (NVP-LXS196), a Pan-PKC Inhibitor for the Treatment of Metastatic Uveal Melanoma.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular malignancy in the adult eye. Despite the aggressive local management of primary UM, the development of metastases is common with no effective treatment options for metastatic disease. Genetic analysis of UM samples reveals the presence of mutually exclusive activating mutations in the Gq alpha subunits GNAQ and GNA11. One of the key downstream targets of the constitutively active Gq alpha subunits is the protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathway. Herein, we describe the discovery of darovasertib (NVP-LXS196), a potent pan-PKC inhibitor with high whole kinome selectivity. The lead series was optimized for kinase and off target selectivity to afford a compound that is rapidly absorbed and well tolerated in preclinical species. LXS196 is being investigated in the clinic as a monotherapy and in combination with other agents for the treatment of uveal melanoma (UM), including primary UM and metastatic uveal melanoma (MUM).

Experimental design, development and evaluation of extended release subcutaneous thermo-responsive in situ gels for small molecules in drug discovery.

The objective of this work is to develop extended release subcutaneous thermo-responsive in situ gel-forming delivery systems using the following commercially available triblock polymers: poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)-poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA-PEG-PLGA, copolymer A & B) and poly (lactide-co-caprolactone)-poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL-PEG-PLCL, copolymer C). Performance of two optimized formulations containing ketoprofen as a model compound, was assessed by comparing in vitro drug release profiles with in vivo performance following subcutaneous administration in rats. This work employs a Design of Experiment (DoE) approach to explore first, the relationship between copolymer composition, concentration, and gelation temperature (GT), and second, to identify the optimal copolymer composition and drug loading in the thermo-responsive formulation. Furthermore, this work discusses the disconnect observed between in vitro drug release and in vivo pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles. In vitro, both formulations showed extended-release profiles for 5-9 days, while PK parameters and plasma profiles were similar in vivo without extended release observed. In conclusion, a clear disconnection is observed between in vitro ketoprofen drug release and in vivo performance from the two thermogel formulations tested. This finding highlights a remaining challenge for thermogel formulation development, that is, being able to accurately predict in vivo behavior from in vitro results.

The application of crystallization in the presence of additives to enable drug-in-capsule technology.

Crystallization in the presence of additives such as surfactants, polymers or impurities has been widely investigated in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries in order to change the crystal habit or to obtain a more desirable polymorph, affect crystal growth and influence dissolution. However, in this study, we investigated the concept of crystallization in the presence of surfactants in order to incorporate into the crystal lattice, a small amount (less than 1% w/w) of surfactant, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). The resulting crystals were further compared to crystals coated with SLS using a washing procedure; in order to assess whether either procedure generates improvements in the apparent solubility and dissolution of a poorly soluble drug so it can be filled directly into a capsule without the need of a complex formulation process.

Use of artificial stomach-duodenum model for investigation of dosing fluid effect on clinical trial variability.

Lilly Compound X (LCX) is an oncology drug that was tested in a phase I clinical study using starch blend capsules. The drug was given to a small patient population (4 patients) and showed large inter- and intra-patient variability. In order to evaluate the possible effect of stomach pH on exposure and ways to mitigate the variability issue, artificial stomach-duodenum (ASD) experiments were conducted to investigate the hypothesis that carefully selected dosing fluids would have an impact in minimizing exposure variability caused by the formulation, which could lead to more consistent evaluation of drug absorption in patients. The ASD data corroborates the observed variability, and was a good tool to investigate the effect of stomach pH and potential dosing solutions on duodenal concentrations. Administering capsules co-formulated with Captisol (10% drug load) along with Sprite was shown by the ASD to be an effective way to increase duodenal concentrations as well as to reduce the difference between duodenal concentrations for different gastric pH. The reduction in variability of duodenum AUC (in ASD) is expected to correlate well with a reduction of variability in patient exposure. The dosing regimen of Sprite/Captisol is therefore suggested for future clinical trials involving LCX. Furthermore, for design of early phase clinical trials, ASD technology can be used to assist in choosing the proper dosing solution to mitigate absorption and exposure variability issues.

Solid-state characterization of amorphous and mesomorphous calcium ketoprofen.

This article is concerned with exploring the application of pair distribution in pharmaceutical analysis. The solid-state characterization of amorphous and mesomorphous (liquid crystalline) calcium ketoprofen is used as an example and the structures of the amorphous and mesomorphous phases of calcium ketoprofen are compared to that of the crystalline phase. An approach to calculating the optimal experimental parameters in pair distribution function (PDF) analysis as well as a suggested method to help assign the many different peaks in a PDF diagram of an organic material are discussed. The studied salts were analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), single crystal X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, polarized light microscopy (PLM), solid-state NMR (SSNMR), variable-temperature SSNMR, and PDF. Raman and SSNMR were useful techniques in identifying and differentiating the crystalline phase from the other two phases but failed, alone, to differentiate between the amorphous and mesomorphous phases. The absence of significant changes in chemical shifts in SSNMR and peak shifts in Raman spectra suggested that the differences in the molecular environment of the major chemical groups in the amorphous and mesomorphous phases were minimal. However, the broadening of the Raman and SSNMR peaks in the noncrystalline phases indicated an increase in the disorder in these systems. PDF analysis of the disordered phases revealed that upon dehydration or quench cooling where the system transformed from crystalline to become disordered, the calcium-calcium and calcium-oxygen (oxygen of the carboxylic acid) distances remained intact meanwhile the rest of the molecule became disordered. The preliminary results from variable-temperature SSNMR showed two different T(1) relaxation time profiles for the amorphous and mesomorphous phases. This was consistent with the hypothesis that part of the molecule remained ordered while the rest of the molecule became disordered and the amorphous phase was more disordered than the mesomorphous phase. In conclusions, SSNMR and PDF supported the hypothesis that part of the anhydrous salt remained ordered while the rest of the molecule became disordered and the amorphous phase was more disordered than the mesomorphous phase.

Effect of storage conditions on compaction behavior of two grades of spray-dried lactose.

In this work we examine the effect of storage conditions (moisture exposure) on the compression behavior of 2 grades of spray-dried lactose (Pharmatose DCL 11 and Pharmatose DCL 14) under 2 different circumstances. The first was to expose powder samples to moisture, then compress them. The second was to expose precompressed tablets to moisture. We clearly show that the effect of moisture exposure and amorphous content crystallization in spray-dried lactoses on compaction behavior depends on whether this moisture exposure takes place before or after compression. In addition, the impact of storage conditions depends on the grade of spray-dried lactose.

General trends in the desolvation behavior of calcium salts.

PURPOSE: This paper is concerned with the solid-state characterization of dehydrated calcium salts as well as the effect of dehydration on the physical properties of these salts. METHODS: The salts were analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), single crystal X-ray and polarized light microscopy (PLM). RESULTS: Our research was able to identify three general behaviors of the desolvation of calcium salts of carboxylic acids. Upon desolvation, ethanolate and pentahydrate calcium indomethacin (CaIndo and CaInd2, respectively) stayed crystalline, fenoprofen calcium (CaFEN), calcium ketoprofen (CaKTN), calcium salicylate (CaSAL), calcium mefenamate (CaMEF) and calcium tolfenamate (CaTOLF) became mesophases, while calcium diflunisal became partially crystalline. On the other hand, the solubility studies of CaFEN, CaKTN and CaSAL showed that all dehydrated calcium salts had higher solubility than their crystalline counterparts and amorphous CaKTN had higher solubility than mesomorphous CaKTN. CONCLUSIONS: Several factors influence the desolvation behavior of calcium salts. We believe the flexibility of the benzene rings in CaKTN, CaFEN, CaMEF and CaTOLF was important for these products to become mesomorphous when they loose their crystalline water; meanwhile, CaDIF where the two benzene rings are coplanar remained crystalline when heated. Additionally, the existence of water channels and the hydrogen bonding networks in the crystals is hypothesized to play an important role in the desolvation behavior of these materials.