Investigation of the prerequisites for the optimization of specific plasma protein binding as a strategy for the reduction of first-pass hepatic metabolism

Reconciling Human-Canine Differences in Oral Bioavailability: Looking beyond the Biopharmaceutics Classification System

The extrapolation of oral bioavailability (F) information between dogs and humans has had an important role in the drug development process, whether it be to support an assessment of potential human pharmaceutical formulations or to identify the bioavailability challenges that may be encountered in dogs. Accordingly, these interspecies extrapolations could benefit from a tool that helps identify those drug characteristics consistent with species similarities in F. Our initial effort to find such a tool led to an exploration of species differences as it pertained to the biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS). However, using a range of compounds, we concluded that solubility and permeability alone could not explain interspecies inconsistencies in estimates of F. Therefore, we have now extended our evaluation to include canine versus human comparisons of F based upon the biopharmaceutics drug disposition classification system (BDDCS) and the extended clearance classification system (ECCS). Using the same data as that in our initial BCS assessments, we conclude that although neither the BDDCS nor the ECCS can reliably improve our ability to determine when F will be similar in humans and dogs, the ECCS provides a mechanism to help define possible causes for observed human-canine inconsistencies.

Amino Acids in the Development of Prodrugs

Although drugs currently used for the various types of diseases (e.g., antiparasitic, antiviral, antibacterial, etc.) are effective, they present several undesirable pharmacological and pharmaceutical properties. Most of the drugs have low bioavailability, lack of sensitivity, and do not target only the damaged cells, thus also affecting normal cells. Moreover, there is the risk of developing resistance against drugs upon chronic treatment. Consequently, their potential clinical applications might be limited and therefore, it is mandatory to find strategies that improve those properties of therapeutic agents. The development of prodrugs using amino acids as moieties has resulted in improvements in several properties, namely increased bioavailability, decreased toxicity of the parent drug, accurate delivery to target tissues or organs, and prevention of fast metabolism. Herein, we provide an overview of models currently in use of prodrug design with amino acids. Furthermore, we review the challenges related to the permeability of poorly absorbed drugs and transport and deliver on target organs.