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article i nfo Introduction: We have examined iron biodistribution and hepatic gene expression in rats following ad- ministration of the generic Iron Sucrose Azad (ISA) or the reference iron sucrose drug Venofer®. Methods: ISA and Venofer® were administered intravenously to normal, non-anemic, male rats at 15 mg/kg (a supra-therapeutic dose-level). To evaluate biodistribution, tissue iron levels were determined over 28 days for plasma, liver, spleen, bone marrow, heart, kidney, lung and stomach using a validated ICP-MS method. Hepatic gene expression was evaluated by microarray analysis of mRNA from samples taken 24 h after drug administration. Results: Iron concentration/time profiles for plasma and tissues were quantitative- ly similar for ISA and Venofer. Following administration, circulating iron levels briefly exceeded transferrin binding capacity and there was a transient increase in hepatic iron. Bone marrow iron levels remained elevat- ed throughout the study. No increases in tissue iron levels were observed in the heart, stomach or lungs. Spleen iron levels increased over the course of the study in treated and control rats. Small, transient increases were recorded in the kidneys of treated rats. The effects of ISA and Venofer® on hepatic gene transcription were similar. Principal components analysis showed that there was no systematic effect of either treatment on transcriptional profiles. Only a small number of genes showed significant modulation of expression. No transcriptional pattern matches with toxicity pathways were found in the ToxFX database for either treat- ment. No modulation of key genes in apoptosis, inflammation or oxidative stress pathways was detected. Discussion: These findings demonstrated that the biodistribution of administered iron is essentially similar for Iron Sucrose Azad and Venofer®, that iron sucrose partitions predominantly into the liver, spleen and bone marrow, and that hepatic gene expression studies did not provide any evidence of toxicity in animals treated at a supra-therapeutic dose-level.

Intravenous iron preparations are key components in the management of anaemia of various etiologies. These iron-carbohydrate complexes permit safe systemic delivery of iron, whilst protecting from the potential toxic effects of over-saturation. This in turn permits efficient haematopoiesis following erythropoietin administration. Since the rate of release of iron is dependent upon the structure of this iron-carbohydrate complex, it is essential to ensure that an intravenous iron preparation is well characterized and its properties documented. This report describes physicochemical and toxicological studies into a new iron sucrose generic preparation, "Iron Sucrose Azad (ISA)", using the original iron sucrose product as reference. It could be demonstrated that the specifications and physicochemical characteristics of ISA reflect those of the reference product. Furthermore, in a rat model previously shown to identify possible toxicological effects of "unsimilar" iron sucrose preparations, ISA was found to have the same properties as the reference product, with both being well tolerated.

www.citoxlab.com IntroductIon In the present study we have examined iron biodistribution and hepatic gene expression following administration of two iron sucrose preparations to rats; Iron Sucrose Azad (ISA), a generic iron sucrose product and Venofer®, a reference iron sucrose product. The biodistribution study was undertaken to address the requirement of the recent European Medicines Agency (EMA) Reflection Paper (1) that comparative data from non clinical studies on the kinetics of iron biodistribution in major target organs should be presented in support of claims of essential similarity for injectable iron sucrose preparations. We have also evaluated the potential hepatic toxicity of these preparations using a gene expression approach.

The effect of cyclosporine A during the development phase of adjuvant arthritis was studied in 40 female rats. Five groups of eight animals each received oral cyclosporine, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, or 30 mg/kg daily for 30 days. Also, eight normal and eight diseased rats served as placebo controls. At the time of inoculation of the adjuvant suspension on day 0, measurement of disease parameters (paw swelling and vertebral density) was started concomitantly with beginning of therapy. On completion of the study, the animals were killed, and after measurement of total skeletal and segmental (hind legs and caudal spine plus two caudal vertebrae) calcium, the two assessed vertebrae and both femoral condyles were removed for histomorphometric evaluation (vertebrae) and for estimation of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content of cartilage. Blood for osteocalcin determinations also was taken at term from control and untreated arthritic rats and from animals that had received 10 mg/kg cyclosporine. Treatment with 2.5 mg/kg was ineffective, but doses between 5 and 20 mg/kg prevented the development of articular and osseous lesions. The 20 mg/kg dose showed no better effect than 10 mg/kg. This was shown by the absence of inflammation and the presence of normal condylar GAG and total mineral content in the areas screened. Untreated animals showed marked reductions in all of these parameters. The 30 mg/kg dose was effective in blocking the GAG loss, but significant reductions in bone density and trabecular volume were seen. There was a close correlation between GAG and bone density values, suggesting a common causal relationship. Circulating osteocalcin was significantly elevated in the untreated animals with adjuvant arthritis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)