Prediction of the Transporter-Mediated Drug-Drug Interaction Potential of Dabrafenib and Its Major Circulating Metabolites.

The BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib was recently approved for the treatment of certain BRAF V600 mutation-positive tumors, either alone or in combination therapy with the mitogen-activated extracellular signal regulated kinase 1 (MEK1) and MEK2 inhibitor, trametinib. This article presents the dabrafenib transporter-mediated drug-drug interaction (DDI) risk assessment, which is currently an important part of drug development, regulatory submission, and drug registration. Dabrafenib and its major circulating metabolites (hydroxy-, carboxy-, and desmethyl-dabrafenib) were investigated as inhibitors of the clinically relevant transporters P-gp, BCRP, OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OCT2, OAT1, and OAT3. The DDI Guidance risk assessment decision criteria for inhibition of BCRP, OATP1B1 and OAT3 were slightly exceeded and therefore a minor DDI effect resulting from inhibition of these transporters remained possible. Biliary secretion is the major excretion pathway of dabrafenib-related material (71.1% of orally administered radiolabeled dose recovered in feces), whereas urinary excretion was observed as well (22.7% of the dose). In vitro uptake into human hepatocytes of the dabrafenib metabolites, but not of dabrafenib parent compound, was mediated, at least in part, by hepatic uptake transporters. The transporters responsible for uptake of the pharmacologically active hydroxy- and desmethyl dabrafenib could not be identified, whereas carboxy-dabrafenib was a substrate of several OATPs. Dabrafenib, hydroxy-, and desmethyl-dabrafenib were substrates of P-gp and BCRP, whereas carboxy-dabrafenib was not. Although a small increase in exposure to carboxy-dabrafenib upon inhibition of OATPs and an increase in exposure to desmethyl-dabrafenib upon inhibition of P-gp or BCRP cannot be excluded, the clinical significance of such increases is likely to be low.

The metabolic drug-drug interaction profile of Dabrafenib: in vitro investigations and quantitative extrapolation of the P450-mediated DDI risk.

Dabrafenib is a potent ATP-competitive inhibitor for the V600 mutant b-rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (b-raf) kinase currently approved in the United States for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Studies were conducted in human liver microsomes, recombinant human cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes, and human hepatocytes to investigate the potential of dabrafenib and its major circulating metabolites to perpetrate pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions (DDIs) as well as have their own pharmacokinetics affected (victim) by coadministered drugs. Dabrafenib metabolism was mediated by CYP2C8 (56% to 67%) and CYP3A4 (24%); in addition, it has demonstrated inhibition of CYP2C8, 2C9, 2C19, 3A4 (atorvastatin), and (nifedipine), with calculated IC50 values of 8.2, 7.2, 22.4, 16, and 32 µM. It also demonstrated metabolism-dependent inhibition of CYP3A4 with a maximal inactivation rate constant of 0.040 minute(-1) and a concentration required to achieve half-maximal inactivation for CYP3A4 of 38 µM. Hydroxy-dabrafenib inhibited CYP1A2, 2C9, and 3A4 (midazolam) with calculated IC50 values of 83, 29, and 44 µM, and carboxy-dabrafenib did not inhibit any of the P450 enzymes tested. Desmethyl-dabrafenib inhibited CYP2B6, 2C8, 2C9, 2C19, and 3A4 (midazolam, atorvastatin, and nifedipine) with calculated IC50 values of 78, 47, 6.3, 36, 17, 20, and 28 µM, respectively. At 30 µM dabrafenib showed increases in CYP2B6 and CYP3A4 mRNA expression indicative of induction. The potential clinical relevance of these findings was explored by using mechanistic static mathematical models to estimate the magnitude of change (area under the curve change) as a result of P450-mediated DDI interactions. This risk-assessment approach indicated that dabrafenib is unlikely to perpetrate any in vivo DDIs by inhibition mechanisms, but is a likely inducer of CYP3A4 and a victim of CYP3A4 and CYP2C8 inhibitors. Furthermore, inclusion of the in vitro drug interaction data for dabrafenib metabolites did not impact the overall clinical risk assessment.

N-alkyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indol-1-amines and derivatives as novel urotensin-II receptor antagonists.

High throughput screening of our compound collection led to the discovery of a novel series of N-alkyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indol-1-amines as urotensin-II receptor antagonists. Synthesis, initial structure and activity relationships, functional and animal ortholog activities of the series are described.

2-Aminomethyl piperidines as novel urotensin-II receptor antagonists.

A series of 2-aminomethyl piperidines has been discovered as novel urotensin-II receptor antagonists. The synthesis, initial structure-activity relationships, and optimization of the initial hit that resulted in the identification of potent, cross-species active, and functional urotensin-II receptor antagonists such as 1a and 11a are described.