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Moline M, Asakura S, Beuckman C, Landry I, Setnik B, Ashworth J, Henningfield JE. The abuse potential of lemborexant, a dual orexin receptor antagonist, according to the 8 factors of the Controlled Substances Act. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:699-711. [PMID: 36749354 PMCID: PMC10006052 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06320-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Lemborexant (LEM) is a dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA) approved in multiple countries including the USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, and several Asian countries for the treatment of insomnia in adults. As a compound with central nervous system activity, it is important to understand the abuse potential of LEM with respect to public health. OBJECTIVES This review discusses data for LEM relevant to each of the 8 factors of the United States Controlled Substances Act. RESULTS LEM did not demonstrate abuse potential in nonclinical testing and was associated with a low incidence of abuse-related adverse events in clinical study participants with insomnia disorder. Similar to other DORAs that have been evaluated (eg., almorexant, suvorexant (SUV), and daridorexant), LEM and the positive controls (zolpidem and SUV) also showed drug liking in a phase 1 abuse potential study that enrolled subjects who used sedatives recreationally. However, internet surveillance of SUV and the FDA Adverse Events Reporting System suggests that drugs in the DORA class display very low abuse-related risks in the community. Additionally, as described in FDA-approved labeling, it does not carry physical dependence and withdrawal risks. CONCLUSIONS LEM, similar to most other prescription insomnia medications, was placed into Schedule IV. However, LEM and other drugs in the DORA class may have a lower potential for abuse as suggested by real-world postmarketing data from federal surveys and internet surveillance, and thus may have lower risks to public health than Schedule IV benzodiazepines and nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics that potentiate GABA signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Moline
- Eisai Inc., 200 Metro Boulevard, Nutley, Jersey, NJ, 07110, USA.
| | | | | | | | - Beatrice Setnik
- Altasciences, Laval, Quebec, Canada and the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Jack E Henningfield
- Pinney Associates, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA.,The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Iqbal M, Alshememry A, Imam F, Kalam MA, Akhtar A, Ali EA. UPLC-MS/MS Based Identification and Quantification of a Novel Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonist in Plasma Samples by Validated SWGTOX Guidelines. TOXICS 2023; 11:toxics11020109. [PMID: 36850983 PMCID: PMC9959124 DOI: 10.3390/toxics11020109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Lemborexant (LEM) is a novel dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA), recently approved for the treatment of insomnia. As with other DORAs, LEM has potential of abuse and therefore placed in Schedule IV class by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA). In this study, a sensitive and accurate UPLC-MS/MS assay was developed for the quantification of LEM in human plasma sample using losartan as an internal standard (IS). The chromatographic separation was performed by using gradient elution of mobile phase, comprising of 10 mM ammonium acetate and acetonitrile with a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. An Acquity UPLC BEH C18 (1.7 μm, 2.1 × 50 mm) column was used for separation of LEM and IS by maintaining the oven temperature of 40 °C. The electrospray ionization in positive mode was used for sample ionization. The precursor to product ion transition of 411.12 > 175.09 (qualifier) and 411.1 > 287.14 (quantifier) was used for detection and quantification of LEM, respectively, in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Being a drug of abuse, the assay was validated according to "Scientific Working Group for Toxicology" (SWGTOX) guidelines, including limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), precision and bias, calibration model, interferences, carry-over effects, matrix effects, and stability parameters. The LOD and LOQ of the assay were 0.35 and 1.0 ng/mL, respectively. The linear range was between 1-300 ng/mL with correlation coefficient of ≥0.995. The method was also cross validated in rat plasma samples with acceptable ranges of precision and accuracy before its application for pharmacokinetic study in rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muzaffar Iqbal
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah Alshememry
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Faisal Imam
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohd Abul Kalam
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ali Akhtar
- College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Essam A. Ali
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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Stoops WW, Strickland JC, Hatton KW, Hays LR, Rayapati AO, Lile JA, Rush CR. Suvorexant maintenance enhances the reinforcing but not subjective and physiological effects of intravenous cocaine in humans. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2022; 220:173466. [PMID: 36152876 PMCID: PMC9588557 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2022.173466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Preclinical research has sought to understand the role of the orexin system in cocaine addiction given the connection between orexin producing cells in the lateral hypothalamus and brain limbic areas. Exogenous administration of orexin peptides increased cocaine self-administration whereas selective orexin-1 receptor antagonists reduced cocaine self-administration in non-human animals. The first clinically available orexin antagonist, suvorexant (a dual orexin-1 and orexin-2 receptor antagonist), attenuated motivation for cocaine and cocaine conditioned place preference, as well as cocaine-associated impulsive responding, in rodents. This study aimed to translate those preclinical findings and determine whether suvorexant maintenance altered the pharmacodynamic effects of cocaine in humans. Seven non-treatment seeking subjects with cocaine use disorder completed this within-subject human laboratory study, and a partial data set was obtained from one additional subject. Subjects were maintained for at least three days on 0, 5, 10 and 20 mg oral suvorexant administered at 2230 h daily in random order. Subjects completed experimental sessions in which cocaine self-administration of 0, 10 and 30 mg/70 kg of intravenous cocaine was evaluated on a concurrent progressive ratio drug versus money choice task. Subjective and physiological effects of cocaine were also determined. Cocaine functioned as a reinforcer and produced prototypic dose-related subjective and physiological effects (e.g., increased ratings of "Stimulated" and heart rate). Suvorexant (10, 20 mg) increased self-administration of 10 mg/70 kg cocaine and decreased oral temperature but did not significantly alter any other effects of cocaine. Future research may seek to evaluate the effects of orexin-1 selective antagonists in combination with cocaine.
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Affiliation(s)
- William W Stoops
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 1100 Veterans Drive, Medical Behavioral Science Building, Lexington, KY 40536-0086, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 245 Fountain Court, Lexington, KY 40509-1810, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, 171 Funkhouser Drive, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA; Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 845 Angliana Avenue, Lexington, KY 40508, USA.
| | - Justin C Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5510 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Kevin W Hatton
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 800 Rose Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Lon R Hays
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 245 Fountain Court, Lexington, KY 40509-1810, USA
| | - Abner O Rayapati
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 245 Fountain Court, Lexington, KY 40509-1810, USA
| | - Joshua A Lile
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 1100 Veterans Drive, Medical Behavioral Science Building, Lexington, KY 40536-0086, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 245 Fountain Court, Lexington, KY 40509-1810, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, 171 Funkhouser Drive, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA
| | - Craig R Rush
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 1100 Veterans Drive, Medical Behavioral Science Building, Lexington, KY 40536-0086, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 245 Fountain Court, Lexington, KY 40509-1810, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, 171 Funkhouser Drive, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA
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