Tirzepatide is a first‐in‐class glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist approved as for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. A population‐based ...pharmacokinetic (PK) model was developed from 19 pooled studies. Tirzepatide pharmacokinetics were well‐described by a two‐compartment model with first order absorption and elimination. The tirzepatide population PK model utilized a semimechanistic allometry model to describe the relationship between body size and tirzepatide PK. The half‐life of tirzepatide was ~5 days and enabled sustained exposure with once‐weekly subcutaneous dosing. The covariate analysis suggested that adjustment of the dose regimen based on demographics or subpopulations was unnecessary. The tirzepatide PK model can be used to predict tirzepatide exposure for various scenarios or populations.
A novel dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist, LY3298176, was developed to determine whether the metabolic action of GIP adds to the established clinical benefits of selective GLP-1 receptor agonists ...in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
LY3298176 is a fatty acid modified peptide with dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist activity designed for once-weekly subcutaneous administration. LY3298176 was characterised in vitro, using signaling and functional assays in cell lines expressing recombinant or endogenous incretin receptors, and in vivo using body weight, food intake, insulin secretion and glycemic profiles in mice.
A Phase 1, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study was comprised of three parts: a single-ascending dose (SAD; doses 0.25–8 mg) and 4-week multiple-ascending dose (MAD; doses 0.5–10 mg) studies in healthy subjects (HS), followed by a 4-week multiple-dose Phase 1 b proof-of-concept (POC; doses 0.5–15 mg) in patients with T2DM (ClinicalTrials.gov no. NCT02759107). Doses higher than 5 mg were attained by titration, dulaglutide (DU) was used as a positive control. The primary objective was to investigate safety and tolerability of LY3298176.
LY3298176 activated both GIP and GLP-1 receptor signaling in vitro and showed glucose-dependent insulin secretion and improved glucose tolerance by acting on both GIP and GLP-1 receptors in mice. With chronic administration to mice, LY3298176 potently decreased body weight and food intake; these effects were significantly greater than the effects of a GLP-1 receptor agonist.
A total of 142 human subjects received at least 1 dose of LY3298176, dulaglutide, or placebo. The PK profile of LY3298176 was investigated over a wide dose range (0.25–15 mg) and supports once-weekly administration. In the Phase 1 b trial of diabetic subjects, LY3298176 doses of 10 mg and 15 mg significantly reduced fasting serum glucose compared to placebo (least square mean LSM difference 95% CI: −49.12 mg/dL −78.14, −20.12 and −43.15 mg/dL −73.06, −13.21, respectively). Reductions in body weight were significantly greater with the LY3298176 1.5 mg, 4.5 mg and 10 mg doses versus placebo in MAD HS (LSM difference 95% CI: −1.75 kg −3.38, −0.12, −5.09 kg −6.72, −3.46 and −4.61 kg −6.21, −3.01, respectively) and doses of 10 mg and 15 mg had a relevant effect in T2DM patients (LSM difference 95% CI: −2.62 kg −3.79, −1.45 and −2.07 kg −3.25, −0.88, respectively.
The most frequent side effects reported with LY3298176 were gastrointestinal (vomiting, nausea, decreased appetite, diarrhoea, and abdominal distension) in both HS and patients with T2DM; all were dose-dependent and considered mild to moderate in severity.
Based on these results, the pharmacology of LY3298176 translates from preclinical to clinical studies. LY3298176 has the potential to deliver clinically meaningful improvement in glycaemic control and body weight. The data warrant further clinical evaluation of LY3298176 for the treatment of T2DM and potentially obesity.
•LY3298176 activates both GIP and GLP-1 receptor signaling in vitro.•LY3298176 lowers blood glucose in mice through actions on both incretin receptors.•LY3298176 reduced fasting glucose in humans with type 2 diabetes.•Weight loss was greater with LY3298176 than the selective GLP-1 receptor agonist, dulaglutide in healthy humans.•Tolerability of LY3298176 was comparable to GLP-1 receptor agonists.
With an increasing prevalence of obesity, there is a need for new therapies to improve body weight management and metabolic health. Multireceptor agonists in development may provide approaches to ...fulfill this unmet medical need. LY3437943 is a novel triple agonist peptide at the glucagon receptor (GCGR), glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR), and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R). In vitro, LY3437943 shows balanced GCGR and GLP-1R activity but more GIPR activity. In obese mice, administration of LY3437943 decreased body weight and improved glycemic control. Body weight loss was augmented by the addition of GCGR-mediated increases in energy expenditure to GIPR- and GLP-1R-driven calorie intake reduction. In a phase 1 single ascending dose study, LY3437943 showed a safety and tolerability profile similar to other incretins. Its pharmacokinetic profile supported once-weekly dosing, and a reduction in body weight persisted up to day 43 after a single dose. These findings warrant further clinical assessment of LY3437943.
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•LY3437943 has triple agonist activity at the glucagon, GIP, and GLP-1 receptors•LY3437943 caused greater body weight loss in obese mice than tirzepatide•LY3437943 increased energy expenditure through glucagon receptor activation•Safety and tolerability of LY3437943 were similar to other incretin-based drugs
Coskun et al. demonstrate that LY3437943, a triple glucagon, GIP, and GLP-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes, can reduce body weight through increased energy expenditure and reduced calorie intake in obese mice. Its safety and tolerability in healthy participants were similar to other incretin-based therapies.
Abstract Background In patients with solid tumours, daily everolimus dosing demonstrated dose proportionality and linear pharmacokinetics. A meta-analysis was conducted to characterise the ...relationship between everolimus Cmin and efficacy and safety and the effect of CYP3A4 and P-glycoprotein (PgP) substrate/inhibitor/inducer coadministration on everolimus trough concentration ( Cmin ). Methods Individual patient data from five phase 2/3 studies, in which steady state, predose pharmacokinetic samples were taken from patients with solid tumours administered everolimus 10 mg/day, were pooled. Findings Efficacy and safety were evaluable for 945 and 938 patients, respectively. A 2-fold increase in everolimus Cmin increased the likelihood of tumour size reduction (odds ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23–1.60), was associated with a trend for reduced risk of progression-free survival events (risk ratio RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.69–1.18) and increased the risk of grade ⩾3 pulmonary (RR 1.93, 95% CI 1.12–3.34), stomatitis (RR 1.49, 95% CI 1.05–2.10) and metabolic (RR 1.30, 95% CI 1.02–1.65) events. Coadministering everolimus with strong CYP3A4 and PgP inhibitors increased everolimus Cmin by 10% and 20%, respectively; coadministration with CYP3A4 inducers reduced Cmin by 7%. Interpretation A 2-fold increase in everolimus Cmin was associated with improved tumour size reduction and increased risk of high-grade pulmonary, metabolic and stomatitis events. Funding Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
The effect of dual glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) receptor agonist (RA) tirzepatide on gastric emptying (GE) was compared to that of GLP‐1RAs ...in non‐clinical and clinical studies. GE was assessed following acute and chronic treatment with tirzepatide in diet‐induced obese mice versus semaglutide or long‐acting GIP analogue alone. Participants with and without type 2 diabetes (T2DM) from a phase 1, 4‐week multiple dose study received tirzepatide, dulaglutide or placebo. GE was assessed by acetaminophen absorption. In mice, tirzepatide delayed GE to a similar degree to that achieved with semaglutide; however, these acute inhibitory effects were abolished after 2 weeks of treatment. GIP analogue alone had no effect on GE or on GLP‐1's effect on GE. In participants with and without T2DM, once‐weekly tirzepatide (≥5 and ≥4.5 mg, respectively) delayed GE after a single dose. This effect diminished after multiple doses of tirzepatide or dulaglutide in healthy participants. In participants with T2DM treated with an escalation schedule of tirzepatide 5/5/10/10 or 5/5/10/15 mg, a residual GE delay was still observed after multiple doses. These data suggest that tirzepatide's activity on GE is comparable to that of selective GLP‐1RAs.
Tirzepatide (LY3298176) is a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist under development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), obesity, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Early phase trials ...in T2DM indicate that tirzepatide improves clinical outcomes beyond those achieved by a selective GLP-1 receptor agonist. Therefore, we hypothesized that the integrated potency and signaling properties of tirzepatide provide a unique pharmacological profile tailored for improving broad metabolic control. Here, we establish methodology for calculating occupancy of each receptor for clinically efficacious doses of the drug. This analysis reveals a greater degree of engagement of tirzepatide for the GIP receptor than the GLP-1 receptor, corroborating an imbalanced mechanism of action. Pharmacologically, signaling studies demonstrate that tirzepatide mimics the actions of native GIP at the GIP receptor but shows bias at the GLP-1 receptor to favor cAMP generation over β-arrestin recruitment, coincident with a weaker ability to drive GLP-1 receptor internalization compared with GLP-1. Experiments in primary islets reveal β-arrestin1 limits the insulin response to GLP-1, but not GIP or tirzepatide, suggesting that the biased agonism of tirzepatide enhances insulin secretion. Imbalance toward GIP receptor, combined with distinct signaling properties at the GLP-1 receptor, together may account for the promising efficacy of this investigational agent.
A sensitive high performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC) has been developed for the quantification of doxorubicin in mouse plasma and tissues. Samples of serum or tissue homogenates, 20
μl, ...were analyzed following a single step protein precipitation using perchloric acid (35%, v/v). Doxorubicin was separated from the internal standard, daunorubicin, on a Zorbax 300SB C
18 column at 35
°C. Mobile phase was comprised of acetonitrile and water (25:75) containing 0.1% triethylamine, and was adjusted to pH 3 with phosphoric acid. Peaks eluting from the column were detected with a fluorescence detector with excitation and emission wavelengths of 480 and 560
nm, respectively. Standard curves were linear in the range 5–1000
ng/ml, and correlation coefficients were typically greater than 0.999. Intra-assay recoveries ranged from 94.7 to 99.9%, and inter-assay recoveries were in the range of 95.2–101%. The associated coefficient of variation (CV) was less than 10% in all cases. The method was successfully applied to investigate doxorubicin plasma pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution in athymic Fox
nu mice.
The selective mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor everolimus has demonstrated competitive inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzyme (CYP) 3A4 in vitro; however, its influence on CYP3A4 activity ...in humans is unknown. This study examined the influence of everolimus on the pharmacokinetics of midazolam, a sensitive CYP3A4/5 substrate, and its 1‐hydroxy metabolite in 25 healthy male subjects. Compared with administration of oral midazolam 4 mg/day alone, coadministration with everolimus 10 mg/day increased the midazolam maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) by 25% and the area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) by 30%. The Cmax and AUC of 1‐hydroxymidazolam increased by 20% and 25%, respectively. Concomitant administration of everolimus with midazolam did not change the midazolam metabolic ratio (i.e., the ratio of 1‐hydroxymidazolam AUC to midazolam AUC) or the midazolam or 1‐hydroxymidazolam terminal half‐lives (geometric mean ratios for midazolam + everolimus vs. midazolam alone of 0.96, 1.03, and 1.06, respectively). These results suggest everolimus may affect the bioavailability, but not the systemic clearance, of orally coadministered CYP3A4 substrate drugs.
LY2775240 is a highly selective, potent and orally‐administered inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4), and is being investigated as a treatment option for inflammatory disorders, such as psoriasis. ...LY2775240 was investigated in rodent and rhesus monkey nonclinical models. Treatment with LY2775240 led to significant reductions in TNFα production, a marker of PDE4 engagement upon immune activation, in both nonclinical models. In the first part of a 2‐part first‐in‐human randomized study, a wide dose range of LY2775240 was safely evaluated and found to be well‐tolerated with common adverse events (AEs) of nausea, diarrhea, and headache. No serious AEs were reported. The pharmacokinetic profile of LY2775240 was well‐characterized, with a half‐life that can support once‐a‐day dosing. An ex vivo pharmacodynamic (PD) assay demonstrated dose‐dependent PDE4 target engagement as assessed by reduction in TNFα production. A 20 mg dose of LY2775240 led to near‐maximal TNFα inhibition in this PD assay in the first part of the study and was selected for comparison with the clinical dose of apremilast (30 mg) in the crossover, second part of this study. The 20 mg dose of LY2775240 demonstrated sustained maximal (50%–80%) inhibition of TNFα over all timepoints over the 24‐h duration. The comparator apremilast achieved peak inhibition of ~ 50% at only 4 h postdose with a return to about 10% inhibition within 12 h of dosing. In summary, the nonclinical data and safety, tolerability, and PK/PD data in healthy subjects supports further investigation of LY2775240 in inflammatory indications.
Study Highlights
WHAT IS THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE TOPIC?
Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors, such as apremilast, are currently approved to treat autoimmune disorders, such as psoriasis. LY2775240 is an oral PDE4 inhibitor being developed for treatment of a variety of inflammatory disorders. The degree of enzymatic inhibition achieved by PDE4 inhibitors clinically is poorly understood.
WHAT QUESTION DID THIS STUDY ADDRESS?
This study investigated single ascending doses of LY2775240, a highly selective oral PDE4 inhibitor, in healthy subjects. LY2775240 was well‐tolerated over the dose range evaluated, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles were well‐characterized.
WHAT DOES THIS STUDY ADD TO OUR KNOWLEDGE?
This study evaluated different doses of LY2775240 and subsequently compared a selected LY2775240 dose with the clinical dose of apremilast with an ex vivo assay. This information builds a connection between target engagement and clinical efficacy.
HOW MIGHT THIS CHANGE CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY OR TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE?
This is the first report of an ex vivo PD assay that has been systematically implemented in a PDE4 inhibitor Phase 1 study. Early investigation of exposure‐response relationships versus a comparator can support evaluation of clinically meaningful doses of investigational agents.
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