Organic Anion-Transporting Polypeptide 1B1/1B3-Mediated Hepatic Uptake Determines the Pharmacokinetics of Large Lipophilic Acids: In Vitro-In Vivo Evaluation in Cynomolgus Monkey

Mechanistic Account of Distinct Change in Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1B (OATP1B) Substrate Pharmacokinetics during OATP1B-Mediated Drug-Drug Interactions Using Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling

The role of transporters in drug clearance is widely acknowledged, directly and indirectly by facilitating tissue/enzyme exposure. Through the latter, transporters also affect volume of distribution. Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) involving organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) 1B1/1B3 and SLCO1B1 pharmacogenetics lead to altered pharmacokinetics of OATP1B substrates; however, several factors may confound direct interpretation of pharmacokinetic parameters from these clinical studies using noncompartmental analysis (NCA). A review of clinical data herein indicates a single dose of OATP1B inhibitor rifampin almost never leads to increased substrate half-life but often a decrease and that most clinical OATP1B substrates are CYP3A4 substrates and/or undergo enterohepatic cycling (EHC). Using hypothetically simple OATP1B substrate physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models, simulated effect of rifampin differed from specific OATP1B inhibition due to short rifampin half-life causing dissipation of OATP1B inhibition over time combined with CYP3A4 induction. Calculated using simulated tissue data, volume of distribution indeed decreased with OATP1B inhibition and was expectedly limited to the contribution of liver volume. However, an apparent and counterintuitive effect of rifampin on volume greater than that on clearance resulted for CYP3A4 substrates using NCA. The effect of OATP1B inhibition and rifampin on OATP1B substrate models incorporating EHC plus or minus renal clearance was distinct compared with simpler models. Using PBPK models incorporating reversible lactone metabolism for clinical OATP1B substrates atorvastatin and pitavastatin, DDIs reporting decreased half-life with rifampin were reproduced. These simulations provide an explanation for the distinct change in OATP1B substrate pharmacokinetics observed in clinical studies, including changes in volume of distribution and additional mechanisms. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Transporters are involved in drug clearance and volume of distribution, and distinct changes in OATP1B substrate pharmacokinetics are observed with OATP1B inhibitor rifampin. Using hypothetical and validated PBPK models and simulations, this study addresses the limitations of single-dose rifampin and complicated clinical OATP1B substrate disposition in evaluating the pharmacokinetic parameters of OATP1B substrates during rifampin drug-drug interactions (DDIs). These models account for change in volume of distribution and identify additional mechanisms underlying apparent pharmacokinetic changes in OATP1B DDIs.

Mechanistic Determinants of Daprodustat Drug-Drug Interactions and Pharmacokinetics in Hepatic Dysfunction and Chronic Kidney Disease: Significance of OATP1B-CYP2C8 Interplay

Daprodustat is the first oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor approved recently for the treatment of anemia caused by chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults receiving dialysis. We evaluated the role of organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP)1B-mediated hepatic uptake transport in the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of daprodustat using in vitro and in vivo studies, and physiologically-based PK (PBPK) modeling of its drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with inhibitor drugs. In vitro, daprodustat showed specific transport by OATP1B1/1B3 in the transfected cell systems and primary human and monkey hepatocytes. A single-dose oral rifampin (OATP1B inhibitor) reduced daprodustat intravenous clearance by a notable 9.9 ± 1.2-fold (P < 0.05) in cynomolgus monkeys. Correspondingly, volume of distribution at steady-state was also reduced by 5.0 ± 1.1-fold, whereas the half-life change was minimal (1.5-fold), corroborating daprodustat hepatic uptake inhibition by rifampin. A PBPK model accounting for OATP1B-CYP2C8 interplay was developed, which well described daprodustat PK and DDIs with gemfibrozil (CYP2C8 and OATP1B inhibitor) and trimethoprim (weak CYP2C8 inhibitor) within 25% error of the observed data in healthy subjects. About 18-fold increase in daprodustat area under the curve (AUC) following gemfibrozil treatment was found to be associated with strong CYP2C8 inhibition and moderate OATP1B inhibition. Moreover, PK modulation in hepatic dysfunction and subjects with CKD, in comparison to healthy control, was well-captured by the model. CYP2C8 and/or OATP1B inhibitor drugs (e.g., gemfibrozil, clopidogrel, rifampin, and cyclosporine) were predicted to perpetrate moderate-to-strong DDIs in healthy subjects, as well as, in target CKD population. Daprodustat can be used as a sensitive CYP2C8 index substrate in the absence of OATP1B modulation.

Discovery of TP0628103: A Highly Potent and Selective MMP-7 Inhibitor with Reduced OATP-Mediated Clearance Designed by Shifting Isoelectric Points

Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) has been shown to play an important role in pathophysiological processes such as cancer and fibrosis. We previously discovered selective MMP-7 inhibitors by molecular hybridization and structure-based drug design. However, the systemic clearance (CLtot) of the biologically active lead compound was very high. Because our studies revealed that hepatic uptake by organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) was responsible for the high CLtot, we found a novel approach to reducing their uptake based on isoelectric point (IP) values as an indicator for substrate recognition by OATP1B1/1B3. Our "IP shift strategy" to adjust the IP values culminated in the discovery of TP0628103 (18), which is characterized by reduced in vitro OATP-mediated hepatic uptake and in vivo CLtot. Our in vitro-in vivo extrapolation of OATP-mediated clearance and the "IP shift strategy" provide crucial insights for a new medicinal chemistry approach to reducing the systemic clearance of OATP1B1/1B3 substrates.

Effect of Hepatic Impairment on OATP1B Activity: Quantitative Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Endogenous Biomarker and Substrate Drugs

Hepatic impairment (HI) is known to modulate drug disposition and may lead to elevated plasma exposure. The aim of this study was to quantitate the in vivo OATP1B-mediated hepatic uptake activity in populations with varying degrees of HI. First, we measured baseline levels of plasma coproporphyrin-I, an endogenous OATP1B biomarker, in an open-label, parallel cohort study in adult subjects with normal liver function and mild, moderate, and severe HI (n = 24, 6/cohort). The geometric mean plasma concentrations of coproporphyrin-I were 1.66-fold, 2.81-fold (P < 0.05), and 7.78-fold (P < 0.0001) higher in mild, moderate, and severe impairment than those healthy controls. Second, we developed a dataset of 21 OATP1B substrate drugs with HI data extracted from literature. Median disease-to-healthy plasma area under the curve (AUC) ratios for substrate drugs were ~ 1.4, 3.0, and 6.4 for mild, moderate, and severe HI, respectively. Additionally, significant linear relationship was noted between AUC ratios of substrate drugs without and with co-administration of rifampin, a prototypic OATP1B inhibitor, and AUC ratios in moderate (P < 0.01) and severe (P < 0.001) HI. Third, a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model analysis was conducted with 10 substrate drugs following estimation of relative OATP1B functional activity in virtual disease population models using coproporphyrin-I data and verification of substrate models with rifampin drug-drug interaction data. This approach adequately predicted plasma AUC change particularly in moderate (9 of 10 within 2-fold) and severe (5 of 5 within 2-fold) HI. Collective findings indicate progressive reduction, by as much as 90-92%, in OATP1B activity in the HI population.

Identification of Organic Anion Transporter 2 Inhibitors: Screening, Structure-Based Analysis, and Clinical Drug Interaction Risk Assessment

Organic anion transporter 2 (OAT2 or SLC22A7) plays an important role in the hepatic uptake and renal secretion of several endogenous compounds and drugs. The goal of this work is to understand the structure activity of OAT2 inhibition and assess clinical drug interaction risk. A single-point inhibition assay using OAT2-transfected HEK293 cells was employed to screen about 150 compounds; and concentration-dependent inhibition potency (IC₅₀) was measured for the identified "inhibitors". Acids represented about 65% of all inhibitors, and the frequency of bases-plus-zwitterions approximately doubled for "non-inhibitors". Interestingly, 9 of 10 most potent inhibitors (low IC₅₀) are acids (pK_a ∼ 3-5). Additionally, inhibitors are significantly larger and lipophilic than non-inhibitors. In silico (binary) models were developed to identify inhibitors and non-inhibitors. Finally, in vivo risk assessed via static drug-drug interaction models identified several inhibitors with potential for renal and hepatic OAT2 inhibition at clinical doses. This is the first study assessing the global pattern of OAT2-ligand interactions.

Pharmacokinetics, Mass Balance, Metabolism, and Excretion of the Liver-Targeted Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase Inhibitor PF-05221304 (Clesacostat) in Humans

The disposition of the hepatoselective ACC inhibitor PF-05221304 (Clesacostat) was studied after a single 50-mg oral dose of [14C]-PF-05221304 to healthy human subjects.Mass balance was achieved with 89.9% of the administered dose recovered in urine and faeces, over the 11-day study period. The total administered radioactivity excreted in faeces and urine was 81.7% and 8.2%, respectively. Unchanged PF-05221304 accounted for 35.6% of the radioactive dose in faeces, suggesting ∼64% of the administered dose was absorbed.PF-05221304 was principally metabolized via oxidative and reductive pathways involving: (a) N-dealkylation, (b) isopropyl group monohydroxylation to yield enantiomeric metabolites (M2a and M2b), (c) hydroxylation on the 3-azaspiro[5.5]undecan-8-one moiety to metabolites M5 and 519c, and (d) carbonyl group reduction to enantiomeric alcohol metabolites M3, and M4. Secondary metabolites (521a, 521b, and 533), derived from a combination of oxidation and reduction of the primary metabolites accounted for ∼14.8% of the dose. In plasma, unchanged PF-05221304 represented 96.1% circulating radioactivity. Metabolites M1, M2b, and M2a represented 1.94, 1.76, and 0.18% of circulating radioactivity, respectively.Overall, these data suggest that PF-05221304 is well absorbed in humans and eliminated largely via phase I metabolism.

Biomarker-Informed Model-Based Risk Assessment of Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1B Mediated Drug-Drug Interactions

Quantitative prediction of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) involving organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP)1B1/1B3 inhibition is limited by uncertainty in the translatability of experimentally determined in vitro inhibition potency (half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀ )). This study used an OATP1B endogenous biomarker-informed physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling approach to predict the effect of inhibitor drugs on the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of OATP1B substrates. Initial static analysis with about 42 inhibitor drugs, using in vitro IC₅₀ values and unbound liver inlet concentrations (I_in,max,u ), suggested in vivo OATP1B inhibition risk for drugs with R-value (1+ I_in,max,u /IC₅₀ ) above 1.5. A full-PBPK model accounting for transporter-mediated hepatic disposition was developed for coproporphyrin I (CP-I), an endogenous OATP1B biomarker. For several inhibitors (cyclosporine, diltiazem, fenebrutinib, GDC-0810, itraconazole, probenecid, and rifampicin at 3 different doses), PBPK models were developed and verified against available CP-I plasma exposure data to obtain in vivo OATP1B inhibition potency-which tend to be lower than the experimentally measured in vitro IC₅₀ by about 2-fold (probenecid and rifampicin) to 37-fold (GDC-0810). Models verified with CP-I data are subsequently used to predict DDIs with OATP1B probe drugs, rosuvastatin and pitavastatin. The predicted and observed area under the plasma concentration-time curve ratios are within 20% error in 55% cases, and within 30% error in 89% cases. Collectively, this comprehensive study illustrates the adequacy and utility of endogenous biomarker-informed PBPK modeling in mechanistic understanding and quantitative predictions of OATP1B-mediated DDIs in drug development.