Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, Target Occupancy, and Concentration-QT Analysis of the Novel BTK Inhibitor Evobrutinib in Healthy Volunteers.

Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a key regulator of B cell receptor and Fc receptor signaling, and a rational therapeutic target for autoimmune diseases. This first-in-human phase I, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), target occupancy, and effects on QT interval of evobrutinib, a highly selective, oral inhibitor of BTK, in healthy subjects. This dose escalation trial consisted of two parts. Part 1 included 48 subjects in 6 ascending dose cohorts (25, 50, 100, 200, 350, and 500 mg) randomized to a single dose of evobrutinib or placebo. Part 2 included 36 subjects in 3 ascending dose cohorts (25, 75, and 200 mg/day) randomized to evobrutinib or placebo once daily for 14 days. Safety and tolerability, as well as PK and target occupancy (total and free BTK in peripheral blood mononuclear cells), were assessed following single and multiple dosing. PK parameters were determined by noncompartmental methods. QT interval was obtained from 12-lead electrocardiogram recordings and corrected for heart rate by Fridericia's method (QTcF). Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were mostly mild, occurring in 25% of subjects after single dosing, and 48.1% after multiple dosing. There was no apparent dose relationship regarding frequency or type of TEAE among evobrutinib-treated subjects. Absorption was rapid (time to reach maximum plasma concentration (Tmax ) ~ 0.5 hour), half-life short (~ 2 hours), and PK dose-proportional, with no accumulation or time dependency on repeat dosing. BTK occupancy was dose-dependent, reaching maximum occupancy of > 90% within ~ 4 hours after single doses ≥ 200 mg; the effect was long-lasting (> 50% occupancy at 96 hours with ≥ 100 mg). After multiple dosing, full BTK occupancy was achieved with 25 mg, indicating slow turnover of BTK protein in vivo. Concentration-QTcF analyses did not show any impact of evobrutinib concentration on corrected QT (QTc). In summary, evobrutinib was well-tolerated, showed linear and time-independent PK, induced long-lasting BTK inhibition, and was associated with no prolongation of QT/QTc interval in healthy subjects. Evobrutinib is, therefore, suitable for investigation in autoimmune diseases.

HATT: a phase IV, single-arm, open-label study of sorafenib in Taiwanese patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Sorafenib significantly improves survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This phase IV study assessed sorafenib efficacy/safety in Taiwanese patients with advanced HCC and Child-Pugh A status. METHODS: All patients received 400 mg sorafenib BID. Safety, efficacy, sorafenib pharmacokinetics, and Child-Pugh progression were evaluated. A hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR) prevention substudy assessed HFSR incidence and grade/severity and time to HFSR in 29 and 34 patients randomized to corticosteroid and noncorticosteroid ointments, respectively, and in 88 nonrandomized patients. RESULTS: The 151 patients included 120 (80%) male patients and 81 (54%) with stage IV disease. Mean sorafenib dose was 626 mg/day, and median treatment duration was 4.2 months. Median overall survival (OS), progression-free survival, and time to progression (TTP) were 8.6, 2.7, and 3.8 months, respectively. Disease control and response rates (partial responses only) were 48 and 6.6%, respectively. Median TTP from Child-Pugh A to B/C was 88 days. Drug-related adverse events (AEs) occurred in 89.4% of patients; none were new or unexpected. The most frequent grade ≥3 drug-related, treatment-emergent AEs were HFSR (13.2%), diarrhea (11.9%), and hypertension (6.6%). Corticosteroid ointment tended to reduce the severity and incidence of all HFSR-associated parameters. Pharmacokinetic exposure was unaltered by Child-Pugh progression. The final pharmacokinetic model predicted 13.1 and 33.8% reductions in sorafenib exposure over 6 and 12 months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There was a trend of longer OS and TTP in Taiwanese patients with advanced HCC compared with patients with advanced HCC in the Asia-Pacific trial. Sorafenib exposure did not correlate with liver function. Reduced pharmacokinetic exposure over time was unrelated to reduced or interrupted dosing.

Patient characteristics and patterns of drug use for sleep complaints in the United States: analysis of National Ambulatory Medical Survey data, 1997-2002.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this work were to characterize ambulatory patients in the United States presenting with primary or secondary insomnia complaints and resultant diagnoses, and to describe the characteristics of patients treated with medications commonly used for sleep complaints. METHODS: Data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey for the years 1997 through 2002 were analyzed. Data were stratified by patient characteristics, physician specialty, resulting diagnosis, and medications prescribed or provided. The unit of analysis was the individual patient visit; statistical comparisons were made using the chi(2) test for categorical variables and the Rao-Scott design-adjusted chi(2) test for comparisons of patient age groups. P<0.05 was the criterion for statistical significance. Cells containing < 30 observations were not included in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: The data included 147,945 patient visit records; rates of physician response to the survey ranged from 62.9% in 1999 to 70.4% in 2002. Based on this sample, it was projected that 30 million office visits involved insomnia complaints over the 6-year period from 1997 to 2002 throughout the United States. With a total of 4.9 billion physician visits projected for that time period, 0.6% of visits were insomnia related. Women were 1.5 times more likely to have insomnia-related visits (P<0.001). Overall, the greatest proportion of insomnia patients of both sexes was between the ages of 18 and 64 years (P<0.001). Sleep difficulties were most frequently attributed to organic disorders, depression and/or anxiety, and primary insomnia (55.8%, 27.3%, and 9.8%, respectively; P<0.001). The most frequently prescribed or recommended medications were zaleplon/zolpidem and trazodone (28.5% and 32.0%, respectively; P<0.001). Zaleplon and zolpidem were most frequently used for patients with organic diagnoses and those aged < or =65 years (33.2% and 29.8%; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Demographics of patients with insomnia and their diagnoses from 1999 to 2002 remained stable, but the use of medications changed predictably as newer agents became available.

Phase I and pharmacodynamic study of the oral MEK inhibitor CI-1040 in patients with advanced malignancies.

PURPOSE: This phase I study was undertaken to define the toxicity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, maximum tolerated dose (MTD), and clinical activity of CI-1040, a small-molecule inhibitor of the dual-specificity kinases MEK(mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase) -1 and MEK2 , in patients with advanced malignancy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: CI-1040 was tested in multiple daily dosing frequencies administered for 21 days repeated every 28 days leading ultimately to continuous administration, and effect of food on absorption was tested. Single dose and steady-state pharmacokinetics were assessed during cycle 1 and phosphorylated extracellular receptor kinase (pERK) levels were assessed in WBCs and also in tumor tissue from selected patients. RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients received CI-1040 at dose levels ranging from 100 mg QD to 800 mg tid. Grade 3 asthenia was dose limiting at the highest dose level tested, 800 mg tid administered with food. Ninety-eight percent of all drug-related adverse events were grade 1 or 2 in severity; most common toxicities included diarrhea, asthenia, rash, nausea, and vomiting. Plasma concentrations of CI-1040 and its active metabolite, PD 0184264, increased in a less than dose proportional manner from 100 to 800 mg QD. Administration with a high-fat meal resulted in an increase in drug exposure. The MTD and recommended phase II dose was 800 mg BID administered with food. Sixty-six patients were assessable for response. One partial response was achieved in a patient with pancreatic cancer and 19 patients (28%) achieved stable disease lasting a median of 5.5 months (range, 4 to 17 months). Inhibition of tumor pERK (median, 73%; range, 46% to 100%) was demonstrated in 10 patients. CONCLUSION: CI-1040 was well tolerated at 800 mg BID administered with food. Both target suppression and antitumor activity were demonstrated in this phase I study.

Multicenter phase II study of the oral MEK inhibitor, CI-1040, in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung, breast, colon, and pancreatic cancer.

PURPOSE: This multicenter, open-label, phase II study was undertaken to assess the antitumor activity and safety of the oral mitogen-activated extracellular signal regulated kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor, CI-1040, in breast cancer, colon cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and pancreatic cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with advanced colorectal, NSCLC, breast, or pancreatic cancer received oral CI-1040 continuously at 800 mg bid. All patients had measurable disease at baseline, a performance status of 2 or less, and adequate bone marrow, liver, and renal function. Expression of pERK, pAkt, and Ki-67 was assessed in archived tumor specimens by quantitative immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients with breast (n = 14), colon (n = 20), NSCLC (n = 18), and pancreatic (n = 15) cancer received a total of 194 courses of treatment (median, 2.0 courses; range, one to 14 courses). No complete or partial responses were observed. Stable disease (SD) lasting a median of 4.4 months (range, 4 to 18 months) was confirmed in eight patients (one breast, two colon, two pancreas, and three NSCLC patients). Treatment was well tolerated, with 81% of patients experiencing toxicities of grade 2 or less severity. Most common toxicities included diarrhea, nausea, asthenia, and rash. A mild association (P < .055) between baseline pERK expression in archived tumor specimens and SD was observed. CONCLUSION: CI-1040 was generally well tolerated but demonstrated insufficient antitumor activity to warrant further development in the four tumors tested. PD 0325901, a second generation MEK inhibitor, has recently entered clinical development and, with significantly improved pharmacologic and pharmaceutical properties compared with CI-1040, it may better test the therapeutic potential of MEK inhibition in cancer.

Relationship between age, renal function and bone mineral density in the US population.

Bisphosphonate drugs for treating osteoporosis are excreted by the kidney. However, many of the major trials on efficacy and safety of the bisphophonates for treating osteoporosis excluded patients with significant renal compromise. Since both osteoporosis and renal insufficiency become more prevalent with age, it seems prudent for physicians to be aware of the prevalence of renal dysfunction in patients with osteoporosis who are candidates for treatment with bisphosphonates. Data on 13,831 men and women aged 20+ from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994 (NHANES III) were used to study the occurrence of compromise in renal clearance function in men and women with osteopenia and osteoporosis. To estimate creatinine clearance (CCr), a measure of renal function, serum creatinine (sCr), weight and age were inserted into the Cockcoft-Gault (C-G) formula. The World Health Organization gender specific bone mineral density (BMD) cut-offs were used to define the populations with osteopenia and osteoporosis. For women ages 20-80+ with osteoporosis, the percent prevalence (95% CI) for mild to moderate compromise of CCr