Xenobiotica最新文献

1. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have demonstrated impressive clinical usefulness in treating several types of cancer, with the notion of widening of the therapeutic index of the cytotoxic payload through the minimisation of the systemic toxicity. Therefore, choosing the most appropriate payload molecule is a particularly important part of the early design phase of ADC development, especially given the highly competitive environment ADCs find themselves in today.2. The focus of the current review is to describe critical attributes/considerations needed in the discovery and ultimately development of cytotoxic payloads in support of ADC design. In addition to potency, several key dispositional characteristics including solubility, permeability and bystander effect, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and drug-drug interactions, are described as being an integral part of the integrated activities required in the design of clinically safe and useful ADC therapeutic agents.

Background: Monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) has been used as a payload for several Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). It is known that MMAE is released from the ADC following binding, internalisation and proteolytic degradation in target tissues. A striking discrepancy in systemic MMAE levels has been observed across species with 50-fold higher MMAE levels in human than that in rodents when normalised by ADC dose with unknown mechanism.Hypothesis and purpose: Multiple factors could affect systemic MMAE levels such as production and elimination of unconjugated MMAE following ADC dosing. In this study, we have explored whether MMAE displays differential red blood cell (RBC) partitioning across species that may contribute to the different MMAE levels seen between human and animals.Experiments: To determine MMAE RBC partitioning, tritium labelled MMAE ([³H]-MMAE) was incubated in whole blood from mice, rats, monkeys and humans in vitro, then RBC partitioning was determined and compared across species. To test whether MMAE released from the ADC would show any difference in RBC partitioning, pinatuzumab vedotin or polatuzumab vedotin was administered to mice, rats, and monkeys. MMAE levels were measured in both blood and plasma, and the ratios of MMAE levels were calculated as blood-to-plasma ratio (in vivo RBC partitioning).Results: Our in vitro data showed that unconjugated MMAE has a species-dependent RBC partitioning with strong RBC partitioning in mouse, rat, followed by monkey blood, whereas minimal RBC partitioning was seen in human blood. Incubation of 2 nM of MMAE in mouse blood resulted in a blood-to-plasma ratio of 11.8 ± 0.291, followed by rat, monkey, and human at 2.36 ± 0.0825, 1.57 ± 0.0250, and 0.976 ± 0.0620, respectively. MMAE RBC partitioning is also concentration-dependent, with an inverse relationship between RBC partitioning and MMAE concentration (higher RBC partitioning at lower concentration). In vivo dosing of pinatuzumab vedotin in mouse displayed systemic MMAE at about a 5-fold higher blood concentration compared to plasma concentration once MMAE reached a pseudo-equilibrium, while systemic MMAE from blood and plasma concentration showed a 1.65-fold difference in rat.Implication and conclusion: These data demonstrated that MMAE has a distinct RBC partitioning across different species, which may contribute to, at least in part, to the differential in the systemic MMAE levels observed in vivo between preclinical and clinical studies. These findings highlight the importance of fully characterising the ADME properties of both the ADC and its payload, to enable better translation from animals to human for ADC development.

Antibody drug conjugates are an exciting therapeutic modality that combines the targeting specificity of antibodies with potent cytotoxins to selectively kill cancer cells. The targeting component improves efficacy and protects non-target cells from the harmful effects of the payload. To date 15 ADCs have been approved by regulatory agencies for commercial use and shown to be valuable tools in the treatment of cancer.The assembly of an ADC requires the chemical ligation of a linker-payload to an antibody. Conventional conjugation methods targeting accessible lysines and cysteines have produced all the ADCs currently on the market. While successful, technologies aiming to improve the homogeneity and stability of ADCs are being developed and tested.Here we provide a review of developing methods for ADC construction. These include enzymatic methods, oligosaccharide remodelling, and technologies using genetic code expansion techniques. The virtues and limitations of each technology are discussed.Emerging conjugation technologies are being applied to produce new formats of ADCs with enhanced functionality including bispecific ADCs, dual-payload ADCs, and nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery. The benefits of these novel formats are highlighted.

ADCs represent a transformative class of medicine that combines the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the potency of highly cytotoxic agents through linkers, aiming to enhance the therapeutic index of cytotoxic drugs. Given the complex molecular structures of ADCs, combining the molecular characteristics of small-molecule drugs and those of large-molecule biotherapeutics, there are several unique considerations when designing nonclinical-to-clinical PK/PD translation strategies.This complexity also demands a thorough understanding of the ADC's components - antibody, linker, and payload - to the overall toxicological, PK/PD, and efficacy profile. ADC development is a multidisciplinary endeavour requiring a strategic integration of nonclinical safety, pharmacology, and PK/PD modelling to translate from bench to bedside successfully.The ADC development underscores the necessity for a robust scientific foundation, leveraging advanced analytical and modelling tools to predict human responses and optimise therapeutic outcomes.This review aims to provide an ADC translational PK/PD framework by discussing unique aspects of ADC nonclinical to clinical PK translation, starting dose determination, and leveraging PK/PD modelling for human efficacious dose prediction and potential safety mitigation.

1. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are an important class of cancer therapies. They are complex molecules, comprising an antibody, a cytotoxic payload, and a linker. ADCs intend to confer high specificity by targeting a unique antigen expressed predominately on the surface of the tumour cells than on the normal cells and by releasing the potent cytotoxic drug inside the tumour causing cytotoxic cell death. Despite high specificity to tumour antigens, many ADCs are associated with off-target and on-target off-tumour toxicities, often leading to safety concerns before achieving the desirable clinical efficacy. Therefore, it is crucial to improve the therapeutic index (TI) of ADCs to enable the full potential of this important therapeutic modality. 2. The review summarises current approaches to improve the translation of safety, pharmacokinetics, and TI of ADCs. Common safety findings of ADCs resulting from off-target and on-target toxicities and nonclinical approaches to de-risk ADC safety will be discussed; multiple approaches of using preclinical and clinical dose and exposure data to calculate TI to guide clinical dosing will be elaborated; different approaches to improve TI of ADCs, including selecting the right target, right payload-linker and patients, optimising physicochemical properties, and using fractionation dosing, will also be discussed.

Stable isotope labelling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) is an established technique used in quantitative mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. SILAC is also used to generate stable isotope labelled (SIL) antibodies for internal standards (IS) used in LC-MS/MS bioassays to improve quantitative robustness.Total antibody (TAb) is measured to evaluate pharmacokinetics (PK) of antibody drug conjugate (ADC) candidates measured by either ligand binding (LBA) or LC-MS/MS. Herein, we describe an application of SILAC, where multiple SIL combinations of an antibody are used for cassette dosing and PK evaluation.Our preclinical studies demonstrate SILAC-labelled ADC therapeutics did not alter antibody PK. Furthermore, with cassette dosing SIL antibodies exhibited comparable exposure to discretely administered unlabelled test articles in rats.In addition, SIL antibodies were conjugated to cytotoxic payloads to create SIL ADCs and cassette dosed in a cynomolgus monkey PK study and SIL ADCs yielded comparable PK results to discrete dosed unlabelled ADCs.In conclusion, SIL antibodies used with a cassette dosing strategy increases PK screening throughput of ADC candidates in preclinical species. Additionally, cassette dosing strategy further facilitates the responsible use of laboratory animals to achieve the three-Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement).

Native liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is a commonly used approach for intact analysis of inter-chain cysteine conjugated antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Coupling native LC-MS with affinity capture provides a platform for intact ADC analysis from in vivo samples and characterisation of individual drug load species, specifically the impact of drug linker deconjugation, hydrolysis, and differential clearance in a biological system.This manuscript describes data generated from native LC-MS analysis of ADCs from human plasma, both in vitro incubations and clinical samples. It also details the pharmacokinetic (PK) model built to specifically characterise the disposition of individual drug load species from MMAE and MMAF interchain cysteine conjugated ADCs.In vitro deconjugation and hydrolysis rates were similar across both ADCs. Differential clearance of higher loaded species in vivo was pronounced for the MMAE conjugated ADC, while systemic elimination after accounting for deconjugation was similar across drug loads for the MMAF conjugated ADC. This is the first report of affinity capture native LC-MS analysis, and subsequent modelling of deconjugation, hydrolysis and clearance rates of individual drug load species using clinical data from cysteine conjugated ADCs.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was introduced into synthetic bilirubin 3α and a PEGylated bilirubin 3α nanoparticle (BX-001N, Brixelle®) was developed for the first time.An in vitro microsomal stability study, in vivo PK studies with intravenous bolus (IV) and subcutaneous injection (SC), and a semi-mass balance study of BX-001N were investigated to evaluate its pharmacokinetic (PK) properties in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats using developed liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-qTOF/MS).Following IV administration at 10 or 30 mg/kg, BX-001N showed very low clearance (0.33-0.67 mL/min/kg) with predominant distribution in the vascular system (Vd = 51.73-83.02 mL/kg). BX-001N was also very stable in vitro liver microsomal stability study.Following SC administration at 10 or 30 mg/kg, the bioavailability of BX-001N in plasma at 10 mg/kg was around 43% and showed the less dose-proportionality at 30 mg/kg dose.BX-001N was mainly excreted via the urinary pathway (86.59-92.99% of total amount of parent drug in excreta; urine and faeces) not via the biliary one.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a class of biopharmaceuticals that combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with the cytotoxicity of small molecule drugs. 15 ADCs have been approved by regulatory authorities up to now, mainly for indications in oncology, however, this review paper will only focus on the 13 ADCs that have been approved by either the FDA or EMA.ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion) studies are essential for the development of small molecule drugs to evaluate their disposition properties. These studies help to select drug candidates, determine the optimal dosing regimen and help to identify potential safety concerns for the drug of interest in human. Tissue distribution studies are also important as they facilitate the understanding of the efficacy and safety for parent drug and its metabolites in preclinical and clinical studies.For biologics, ADME studies are usually not required. In this paper, we review the existing approval packages and literature for approved ADCs to determine the extent of ADME studies performed as part of ADC registration packages.We conclude that ADME studies are recommended for the development of ADCs if new linkers and payloads are used that have never been used in humans before as these studies provide valuable information on the pharmacokinetic properties, optimal dosing regimen, and potential safety concerns. However, for the development of ADCs with established linker payload combinations, radiolabelled ADME studies may not be necessary if the distribution, metabolism and excretion properties have been described before. Clinical radiolabelled ADME studies are not recommended where patients are treated for life threating diseases like for indications in oncology.

Over the past two decades, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a highly effective drug delivery technology. ADCs utilise a monoclonal antibody, a chemical linker, and a therapeutic payload to selectively deliver highly potent pharmaceutical agents to specific cell types.Challenges such as premature linker cleavage and clearance due to linker hydrophobicity have adversely impacted the stability and safety of ADCs. While there are various solutions to these challenges, our team has focused on replacement of hydrophobic ValCit linkers (cleaved by CatB) with Asn-containing linkers that are cleaved by lysosomal legumain.Legumain is abundantly present in lysosomes and is known to play a role in tumour microenvironment dynamics. Herein, we directly compare the lysosomal cleavage, cytotoxicity, plasma stability, and efficacy of a traditional cathepsin-cleavable ADC to a matched Asn-containing legumain-cleavable ADC.We demonstrate that Asn-containing linker sequences are specifically cleaved by lysosomal legumain and that Asn-linked MMAE ADCs are broadly active against a variety of tumours, even those with low legumain expression. Finally, we show that AsnAsn-linked ADCs exhibit comparable or improved efficacy to traditional ValCit-linked ADCs. Our study paves the way for replacement of the traditional ValCit linker technology with more hydrophilic Asn-containing peptide linker sequences.