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We identified the enzyme(s) involved in the hydrolysis of the ethyl ester prodrug CDP323 (C28H29BrN403) and characterized its transesterification in the presence of ethanol with special emphasis on the risks of drug-drug interaction. The hydrolysis of CDP323 was evaluated in vitro using human liver and intestinal microsomes and recombinant human carboxylesterases (hCES1 and 2) and was shown to be approximately 20-fold higher in human liver microsomes when compared with human intestinal microsomes and in hCES1 when compared with hCES2. Nonspecific inhibitors of carboxylesterases significantly inhibited the hydrolysis of CDP323 (>80% inhibition) while specific inhibitors of CES2, acetylcholine esterase, arylesterase, and butyrylcholinesterase did not impair the hydrolysis reaction. The effect of ethanol on the kinetic parameters for hydrolysis was investigated, demonstrating that at high concentration (2%), Michaelis-Menten constant (Km), maximum velocity (Vmax), and intrinsic clearance (CLint) for the formation of the hydrolyzed product were decreased (∼40%). The use of deuterated ethanol allowed more mechanistic investigations of the transesterification mechanism and showed that the intrinsic clearance based on parent loss was not impaired in the presence of alcohol. Overall, our data demonstrate that CDP323 is mainly hydrolyzed by hCES1 and is prone to transesterification in the presence of ethanol. Transesterification mechanisms compete with hydrolysis without impairing the overall clearance of the ester prodrug. Based on in vitro results, the risk of a clinically significant drug-drug interaction with ethanol is anticipated to be low.

The disposition of 1-(8-(2-chlorophenyl)-9-(4-chlorophenyl)-9H- purin-6-yl)-4-(ethylamino)-piperidine-4-carboxamide (CP-945,598), an orally active antagonist of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor, was studied after a single 25-mg oral dose of [14C]CP-945,598 to healthy human subjects. Serial blood samples and complete urine and feces were collected up to 672 h after dose. The mean total recovery of radioactivity was 60.1 ± 12.8 from the urine and feces, with the majority of the dose excreted in the feces. The absorption of CP-945,598 in humans was slow with Tmaxat 6 h. Less than 2% of the dose was recovered as unchanged drug in the combined excreta, suggesting that CP-945,598 is extensively metabolized. The primary metabolic pathway of CP-945,598 involved N-de-ethylation to form an N-desethyl metabolite (M1), which was then subsequently metabolized by amide hydrolysis (M2), N-hydroxylation (M3), piperidine ring hydroxylation (M6), and ribose conjugation (M9). M3 was further metabolized to oxime (M4) and keto (M5) metabolites. M1, M4, and M5 were the major circulating metabolites, with AUC(0–48)values 4.7-, 1.5-, and 1.1-fold greater than that of CP-945,598. M1, M2, and M9 accounted for 5.6, 33.6, and 6.30% of the dose, respectively, in excreta. The results from in vitro experiments with recombinant isoforms suggested that the oxidative metabolism of CP-945,598 to M1 is catalyzed primarily by CYP3A4/3A5. The molecular docking study showed that the N-ethyl moiety of CP-945,598 can access to the heme iron-oxo of CYP3A4 in an energetically favored orientation. Together, these data suggest that CP-945,598 is well absorbed and eliminated largely by CYP3A4/3A5-catalyzed metabolism.

The disposition of torcetrapib {(–)-[2R,4S] 4-[(3,5-bis-trifluoromethylbenzyl)-methoxycarbonyl-amino]-2-ethyl-6-trifluoromethyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-quinoline-1-carboxylic acid ethyl ester}, a cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor, was studied in rats, monkeys, and mice after oral administration of a single dose of [14C]torcetrapib. Total mean recoveries of the radiocarbon were 90.9, 93.4, and 86.8% from mice, rats, and monkeys, respectively. Excretion of radioactivity was rapid and nearly complete within 48 h after dosing, with a majority excreted in the feces in all species. Torcetrapib was not detected in the urine and/or bile across species, suggesting that it is primarily cleared by metabolism in these species. More than 28 metabolites were identified in all species and were products of oxidation and conjugation pathways. The primary metabolic pathways of torcetrapib involved hydrolysis of the carbamate ester (M2) and the oxidation of the ethyl moieties. M2 was subsequently metabolized in parallel by oxidative cleavage to novel and unusual quinoline metabolites (M3, M4, M5, M9, and M17), M1 (bis trifluoromethyl benzoic acid), and M28 [3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl-(methoxycarbonyl)methanesulfonic acid]. The structures of several metabolites were established by high-resolution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and 1H NMR. The major circulating and excretory metabolites in mice, rats and monkeys were species-dependent; however, several common metabolites were observed in more than one species. In addition to parent torcetrapib, M1, M3, and M4 in rats, M4 and M17 in mice, and M3 and M8 in monkeys were detected as the major circulating metabolites. A mechanism for the formation of an unusual metabolite M28 has been proposed.

Metabolism and excretion of erlotinib, an orally active inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, were studied in healthy male volunteers after a single oral dose of [14C]erlotinib hydrochloride (100-mg free base equivalent, ∼91 µCi/subject). The mass balance was achieved with ∼91% of the administered dose recovered in urine and feces. The majority of the total administered radioactivity was excreted in feces (83 ± 6.8%), and only a low percentage of the dose was recovered in urine (8.1 ± 2.8%). Only less than 2% of what was recovered in humans was unchanged erlotinib, which demonstrates that erlotinib is eliminated predominantly by metabolism. In plasma, unchanged erlotinib represented the major circulating component, with the pharmacologically active metabolite M14 accounting for ∼5% of the total circulating radioactivity. Three major biotransformation pathways of erlotinib are O-demethylation of the side chains followed by oxidation to a carboxylic acid, M11 (29.4% of dose); oxidation of the acetylene moiety to a carboxylic acid, M6 (21.0%); and hydroxylation of the aromatic ring to M16 (9.6%). In addition, O-demethylation of M6 to M2, O-demethylation of the side chains to M13 and M14, and conjugation of the oxidative metabolites with glucuronic acid (M3, M8, and M18) and sulfuric acid (M9) play a minor role in the metabolism of erlotinib. The identified metabolites accounted for >90% of the total radioactivity recovered in urine and feces. The metabolites observed in humans were similar to those found in the toxicity species, rats and dogs.