Development of LC-MS/MS determination method and backpropagation artificial neural networks pharmacokinetic model of febuxostat in healthy subjects

Population pharmacokinetic analysis of febuxostat with high focus on absorption kinetics and food effect

Febuxostat is commonly used in clinic for the treatment of hyperuricemia. Multiple-peak phenomenon has been observed in human plasma concentration-time profiles of febuxostat, but has not been paid enough attention in previous research. This study takes a pivotal step forward by conducting a comprehensive population pharmacokinetic (PopPK) analysis of febuxostat in a healthy Chinese cohort, with a central focus on delineating its absorption profile under contrasting fasting and fed conditions, while concurrently assessing the influence of food alongside other potential covariates on febuxostat's PK profile. The plasma concentration data used for modeling was obtained from two bioequivalence (BE) studies. Subjects were administered febuxostat 20 mg or 80 mg under fasting or fed condition. Goodness-of-fit plots, visual predict check (VPC), and normalized prediction distribution error (NPDE) were used for model evaluation. Based on the established model, PK profiles in healthy Caucasian subjects were simulated with parameter adjustment for race difference on clearance and bioavailability. Data from 128 subjects were used in the PopPK analysis. Febuxostat concentration-time curves were described by a two-compartment model with two deposit absorption compartments and lag times (Tlag). Prandial states (Food) showed significant impact on absorption rate ka1 and ka2, as well as Tlag1, and body weight was identified as a significant covariate on the apparent distribution volume. The PopPK analysis of febuxostat in healthy Chinese volunteers, under both fasted and fed conditions, successfully characterized its PK profile and underscored the significant influence of food on absorption. The potential difference of absorption between Chinese population and Caucasian population indicated from the simulations needs further investigation.

Application of Northern Goshawk Back-Propagation Artificial Neural Network in the Prediction of Monohydroxycarbazepine Concentration in Patients with Epilepsy

INTRODUCTION

A northern goshawk back-propagation artificial neural network (NGO-BPANN) model was established to predict monohydroxycarbazepine (MHD) concentration in patients with epilepsy.

METHODS

The data were collected from 108 Han Chinese patients with epilepsy on oxcarbazepine monotherapy. The results of 14 genotype variates were selected as the input layer in the first BPANN model, and the variables that had a more significant impact on the plasma concentration of MHD were retained. With demographic characteristics and clinical laboratory test results, the genotypes of SCN1A rs2298771 and SCN2A rs17183814 were used to construct the BPANN model. The BPANN model was comprehensively validated and used to predict the MHD plasma concentration of five patients with epilepsy in our hospital.

RESULTS

The model demonstrated favorable fitness metrics, including a mean squared error of 0.00662, a gradient magnitude of 0.00753, an absence of validation tests amounting to zero, and a correlation coefficient of 0.980. Sex, BMI, and the genotype SCN1A rs2298771 were ranked highest by the absolute mean impact value (MIV), which is primarily associated with the concentration of MHD. The test group exhibited a range of - 20.84% to 31.03% bias between the predicted and measured values, with a correlation coefficient of 0.941 between the two. With BPANN, the MHD nadir concentration could be predicted precisely.

CONCLUSION

The NGO-BPANN model exhibits exceptional predictive capability and can be a practical instrument for forecasting MHD concentration in patients with epilepsy.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

www.chiCTR-OOC-17012141 .

Evaluation of Pharmacokinetic Feasibility of Febuxostat/L-pyroglutamic Acid Cocrystals in Rats and Mice

Febuxostat (FBX), a selective xanthine oxidase inhibitor, belongs to BCS class II, showing low solubility and high permeability with a moderate F value (<49%). Recently, FBX/L-pyroglutamic acid cocrystal (FBX-PG) was developed with an improving 4-fold increase of FBX solubility. Nevertheless, the in vivo pharmacokinetic properties of FBX-PG have not been evaluated yet. Therefore, the pharmacokinetic feasibility of FBX in FBX- and FBX-PG-treated rats and mice was compared in this study. The results showed that the bioavailability (F) values of FBX were 210% and 159% in FBX-PG-treated rats and mice, respectively. The 2.10-fold greater total area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC0-inf) of FBX was due to the increased absorption [i.e., 2.60-fold higher the first peak plasma concentration (Cmax,1) at 15 min] and entero-hepatic circulation of FBX [i.e., 1.68-fold higher the second peak plasma concentration (Cmax,2) at 600 min] in FBX-PG-treated rats compared to the FBX-treated rats. The 1.59-fold greater AUC0-inf of FBX was due to a 1.65-fold higher Cmax,1 at 5 min, and a 1.15-fold higher Cmax,2 at 720 min of FBX in FBX-PG-treated mice compared to those in FBX-treated mice. FBX was highly distributed in the liver, stomach, small intestine, and lungs in both groups of mice, and the FBX distributions to the liver and lungs were increased in FBX-PG-treated mice compared to FBX-treated mice. The results suggest the FBX-PG has a suitable pharmacokinetic profile of FBX for improving its oral F value.

Development and validation of a new LC–MS/MS method for the determination of mefatinib in human plasma and its first application in pharmacokinetic studies

Mefatinib (MET306) is a novel second-generation epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) designed to address the highly unmet clinical need of gefitinib-induced resistance and irreversibly bind to mutated tyrosine kinase domain of EGFR and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). In this study, a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was established and validated for determining MET306 in non-small cell lung cancer patients and a backpropagation artificial neural network was developed and constructed to predict the pharmacokinetic process. The mobile phase was water containing 5 mM ammonium acetate and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.3 mL min−1, within a 4.5 min run time. MET306 was separated on a Hypersil Gold-C18 at 40 °C and subjected to mass analysis using positive electrospray ionization. A total of 524 data were used as development groups and 145 data were used as testing groups. The final established Northern Goshawk Optimization-Backpropagation Artificial Neural Network (NGO-BPANN) model consisted of one input layer with 6 neurons, 1 hidden layer with 10 nodes, and 1 output layer with one node processed by MATLAB2021a.The calibration range of MET306 was 0.5–200 ng mL−1 with the correlation coefficient r ≥ 0.99. Accuracies ranged from 97.20 to 110.80% and the inter- and intra-assay precision were less than 15%. The ranges of extraction recoveries were 104.95% to 112.09% for analyte and internal standard and there was no significant matrix effect. The storage stability under different conditions was in accordance with the bioanalytical guidelines. The time-concentration profiles of the measured and predicted concentrations of MET306 by NGO-BPANN agree well. An NGO-BPANN model was developed to predict the plasma concentration and pharmacokinetic parameters of MET306 in the first time.

Development of a particle swarm optimization-backpropagation artificial neural network model and effects of age and gender on pharmacokinetics study of omeprazole enteric-coated tablets in Chinese population

Background

The effects of age and gender were explored on pharmacokinetics study of omeprazole enteric-coated tablets in Chinese population and a plasma concentration prediction model was developed. All the data (demographic characteristics and results of clinical laboratory tests) were collected from healthy Chinese subjects in pharmacokinetics study using 20 mg omeprazole enteric-coated tablets. A noncompartmental method was used to calculate pharmacokinetic parameters, and 47 subjects were divided into two groups based on the calculation of the median age. Pharmacokinetic data from the low-age and high-age groups or male and female groups were compared by Student t-test. After a total of 12 variables were reconstruct and convert into independent or irrelative variables by principal component analysis, particle swarm optimization (PSO) was used to construct a backpropagation artificial neural network (BPANN) model.

Result

The model was fully validated and used to predict the plasma concentration in Chinese population. It was noticed that the C_max, AUC_0-t, AUC_0-∞ and t_1/2 values have significant differences when omeprazole was administered by low-age groups or high-age groups while there were slight or no significant differences of pharmacokinetic data were found between male and female subjects. The PSO-BPANN model was fully validated and there was 0.000355 for MSE, 0.000133 for the magnitude of the gradient, 50 for the number of validation checks. The correlation coefficient of training, validation, test groups were 0.949, 0.903 and 0.874.

Conclusion

It is necessary to pay attention to the age and gender effects on omeprazole and PSO-BPANN model could be used to predict omeprazole concentration in Chinese subjects to minimize the associated morbidity and mortality with peptic ulcer.

Trial registration

The study was registered in China Drug Clinical Trial Registration and Information Publicity Platform (http://www.chinadrugtrials.org.cn), the registration number was CTR20170876, and the full date of registration was 04/AUG/2017.

Simulation of Febuxostat Pharmacokinetics in Healthy Subjects and Patients with Impaired Kidney Function Using Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling

Febuxostat is recommend by the American College of Rheumatology Gout Management Guidelines as a first-line therapy for lowering the level of urate in patients with gout. At present, this drug is being prescribed mainly based on the clinical experience of doctors. The potential effects of clinical and demographic variables on the bioavailability and therapeutic effectiveness of febuxostat are not being considered. In this study, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model of febuxostat was developed, thereby providing a theoretical basis for the individualized dosing of this drug in gout patients. The plasma concentration-time profiles corresponding to healthy subjects and gout patients with normal kidney function were simulated and validated; then, the model was used to predict the pharmacokinetic (PK) data of the drug in gout patients suffering from varying degrees of impaired kidney function. The error values (the predicted value/observed value) were used to validate the simulated PK parameters predicted by the PBPK model, including the area under the plasma concentration-time curve, the maximum plasma concentration, and time to maximum plasma concentration. Considering that to all error fold changes were smaller than 2 the PBPK model was. In subjects suffering from mild kidney impairment, moderate kidney impairment, severe kidney impairment, and end-stage kidney disease (ESRD), the predicted AUC_0-24h values increased by 1.62, 1.74, 2.27, and 2.65-fold, respectively, compared to gout patients with normal kidney function. Overall, the results showed that the PBPK model constructed in this study predict the pharmacokinetic changes in gout patients suffering from varying degrees of impaired kidney function. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous determination of febuxostat and montelukast in human plasma using fabric phase sorptive extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-fluorimetric detection

In the present work, a new sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorimetric detection (HPLC-FLD) method was developed and validated to quantify febuxostat (FBX) and montelukast (MON) in human plasma. The developed procedure was successfully applied to a study aimed at evaluating the pharmacokinetic profiles of febuxostat and montelukast in human plasma. A sol-gel poly (caprolactone)-block-poly(dimethylsiloxane)-block-poly(caprolactone) (sol-gel PCAP-PDMS-PCAP) extraction sorbent coated fabric phase sorptive extraction membrane was used in the extraction process. The entire chromatographic analysis was performed with isocratic elution of the composition of the mobile phase (acetonitrile:water, 60:40, v:v, 0.032% glacial acetic acid) on the C18 column. The flow rate is varied during the analysis, particularly from 0.5 mL min^-1 at the start and linearly increased to 1.5 mL min^-1 in 7 min. The detection and quantification of the analytes was carried out by means of a fluorimetric detector at 320 nm and 350 nm as absorption wavelengths and at 380 and 400 nm as emission wavelengths for FBX and MON, respectively. The calibration curves demonstrated linearity in the range 0.3-10 ng mL^-1 and 5-100 ng mL^-1 for FBX and MON, respectively, while the LOD and LOQ values were 0.1 and 0.3 ng mL^-1 for FBX and 1.5 and 5 ng mL^-1 for MON. Intraday and interday RSD% values were found lower than 5.79%. As reported, the method was applied to real plasma samples obtained from a volunteer who was co-administered both the drugs. Pharmacokinetic data reveal that the concentration of both the drugs reaches the plateau approximately at the same time, but exhibits an elimination phase at different rates. This study demonstrated the usefulness of the new method and its applicability in therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM).