gdc-0449 and pyridine

Vismodegib (Erivedge, GDC-0449) is a first-in-class, orally administered small-molecule Hedgehog pathway inhibitor that is approved for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma. Previously, we reported results from preclinical and clinical radiolabeled mass balance studies in which we determined that metabolism is the main route of vismodegib elimination. The metabolites of vismodegib are primarily the result of oxidation followed by glucuronidation. The focus of the current work is to probe the mechanisms of formation of three pyridine ring-cleaved metabolites of vismodegib, mainly M9, M13, and M18, using in vitro, ex vivo liver perfusion and in vivo rat studies. The use of stable-labeled ((13)C2,(15)N)vismodegib on the pyridine ring exhibited that the loss of carbon observed in both M9 and M13 was from the C-6 position of pyridine. Interestingly, the source of the nitrogen atom in the amide of M9 was from the pyridine. Evidence for the formation of aldehyde intermediates was observed using trapping agents as well as (18)O-water. Finally, we conclude that cytochrome P450 is involved in the formation of M9, M13, and M18 and that M3 (the major mono-oxidative metabolite) is not the precursor for the formation of these cleaved products; rather, M18 is the primary cleaved metabolite.

Topics: Anilides; Animals; Biotransformation; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Dogs; Hedgehog Proteins; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Liver; Macaca fascicularis; Male; Mass Spectrometry; Microsomes, Liver; Molecular Structure; Oxidation-Reduction; Perfusion; Pyridines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

2-Chloro-N-(4-chloro-3-(pyridin-2-yl)-phenyl)-4-(methylsulfonyl)-benzamide (GDC-0449, vismodegib) is a potent and selective first-in-class small-molecule inhibitor of the Hedgehog signaling pathway and is currently in clinical development. In this study, we investigated the metabolic fate and disposition of GDC-0449 in rats and dogs after a single oral administration of [¹⁴C]GDC-0449. An average of 92.4 and 80.4% of the total administered radioactivity was recovered from urine and feces in rats and dogs, respectively. In both species, feces were the major route of excretion, representing 90.0 and 77.4% of the total dose in rats and dogs, respectively. At least 42.1 and 30.8% of the dose was absorbed in rats and dogs, respectively, based on the total excretion of radioactivity in bile and urine. GDC-0449 underwent extensive metabolism in rats and dogs with the major metabolic pathways being oxidation of the 4-chloro-3-(pyridin-2-yl)-phenyl moiety followed by phase II glucuronidation or sulfation. Three other metabolites resulting from an uncommon pyridine ring opening were found, mainly in feces, representing 1.7 to 17.7% of the dose in total in rats and dogs. In plasma, the total radioactivity was absorbed quickly in both rats and dogs, and unchanged GDC-0449 was the predominant circulating radioactive species in both species (>95% of total circulating radioactivity). Quantitative whole-body autoradiography in rats showed that the radioactivity was well distributed in the body, except for the central nervous system, and the majority of radioactivity was eliminated from most tissues by 144 h.

Topics: Absorption; Administration, Oral; Anilides; Animals; Carbon Radioisotopes; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Dogs; Feces; Female; Hedgehog Proteins; Male; Metabolic Clearance Rate; Pyridines; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Signal Transduction; Species Specificity; Structure-Activity Relationship; Tissue Distribution