The disposition of gemifloxacin, a new fluoroquinolone antibiotic, in rats and dogs.

Gemifloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibacterial compound with enhanced affinity for bacterial topoisomerase IV and is being developed for the treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections. The disposition and metabolic fate of this antibiotic was studied in the rat and the dog, the animal species used in its toxicological evaluation. The investigations were carried out following oral and intravenous administration of gemifloxacin mesylate. Gemifloxacin is a racemic compound; therefore, the pharmacokinetics of its individual (+) and (-) enantiomers were characterized using a chiral high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay. In both rat and dog, the pharmacokinetic profiles of the (+) and (-) enantiomers were essentially identical. The enantiomers were rapidly absorbed following oral administration of racemic gemifloxacin mesylate. They distributed rapidly beyond total body water, and their blood clearance values were approximately equal to one quarter of the hepatic blood flow in each species. Terminal phase elimination half-lives were ca. 2 h in the rat and 5 h in the dog. Gemifloxacin was metabolized to a limited extent following oral and intravenous administration of [14C]gemifloxacin mesylate, and all metabolites formed were relatively minor. The principal metabolites formed were the E-isomer (4-6% of dose) and the acyl glucuronide of gemifloxacin (2-6% of dose) in both species and N-acetyl gemifloxacin (2-5% of dose) in the rat. Data obtained following intravenous administration indicated that gemifloxacin-related material is eliminated from the body via urinary excretion, biliary secretion, and gastrointestinal secretion. Material was eliminated approximately equally by the three routes in the dog, whereas a slightly higher proportion of the dose was eliminated in the urine (46%) and a lower proportion in the bile (12%) of rats.

Metabolism and enantioselective pharmacokinetics of Casodex in man.

1. Five healthy male volunteers received a single oral dose (50 mg; 42 microCi) of 14C-Casodex, a racemic compound, which has its antiandrogen activity predominantly in R-Casodex, the (-)-enantiomer, with little activity in S-Casodex, the (+)-enantiomer. 2. Plasma concentrations of R-Casodex increased slowly in all subjects to reach a peak of 559-970 ng/ml between 15 and 48 h after dosing and, thereafter, declined monoexponentially with a mean half-life of 4.2 days. Plasma concentrations of S-Casodex rose rapidly to reach a peak of 32-66 ng/ml within the first 2-5 h, and then declined monoexponentially with a mean half-life of 19 h. Plasma concentrations of the racemate were in very good agreement with the sum of the enantiomer concentrations throughout the study and were very similar to concentrations of total radioactivity over the first 4 days. 3. About 80% of the radioactive dose was recovered in urine (35.8 +/- 1.7%; mean +/- SEM) and faeces (42.6 +/- 2.9%) during a total collection over 9 days; this incomplete recovery was consistent with the slow elimination of R-Casodex. 4. T.l.c. of urine extracts indicated extensive metabolism of Casodex to two polar metabolites identified as the glucuronide conjugates of Casodex and hydroxy-Casodex; almost no parent compound was observed. Virtually all of the Casodex glucuronide excreted in urine during the first 2 days was derived from S-Casodex, consistent with the relatively low plasma concentrations and rapid elimination of this enantiomer. 5. T.l.c. of faecal extracts showed the presence of both Casodex and hydroxy-Casodex; these may have been eliminated in bile as the glucuronide conjugates, with subsequent hydrolysis in the intestinal tract.

Metabolism of Casodex in laboratory animals.

1. Casodex, a non-steroidal antiandrogen, was eliminated primarily in faeces by rat, mouse, rabbit and dog. Rat, mouse and rabbit eliminated 20-30% of a single oral dose (8-25 mg/kg) in urine; only 3-4% was excreted in urine by dog (2.5 mg/kg). Oral absorption was about 80% in rat, mouse, rabbit and dog. 2. Most of the dose was recovered in 48 h from rat, mouse and rabbit. In rat, < 1% of the dose was exhaled as 14CO2 and < 1% remained in the carcass after 7 days. Recovery from dog was incomplete in 4 days but consistent with the long plasma elimination half-life of 7-7.5 days. Casodex was eliminated from rat plasma with a half-life of 17-21 h. 3. Examination of urine indicated extensive metabolism of Casodex and showed a marked species difference. In rat, mouse and dog, Casodex was cleaved at the amide to yield a carboxylic acid and an aromatic amine which subsequently underwent ring hydroxylation with sulphate conjugation. In rabbit, the major urinary metabolite was Casodex glucuronide, conjugated on the tertiary hydroxyl. 4. The major component in faeces of all species was unchanged Casodex; some hydroxy-Casodex was also observed in rat faeces. Analysis of rat and dog bile indicated that Casodex and hydroxy-Casodex were eliminated in bile primarily as glucuronide conjugates.