Dengue virus (DENV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, is a major public health threat. The virus poses risk to 2.5 billion people worldwide and causes 50 to 100 million human infections each year. Neither a vaccine nor an antiviral therapy is currently available for prevention and treatment of DENV infection. Here, we report a previously undescribed adenosine analog, NITD008, that potently inhibits DENV both in vitro and in vivo. In addition to the 4 serotypes of DENV, NITD008 inhibits other flaviviruses, including West Nile virus, yellow fever virus, and Powassan virus. The compound also suppresses hepatitis C virus, but it does not inhibit nonflaviviruses, such as Western equine encephalitis virus and vesicular stomatitis virus. A triphosphate form of NITD008 directly inhibits the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity of DENV, indicating that the compound functions as a chain terminator during viral RNA synthesis. NITD008 has good in vivo pharmacokinetic properties and is biologically available through oral administration. Treatment of DENV-infected mice with NITD008 suppressed peak viremia, reduced cytokine elevation, and completely prevented the infected mice from death. No observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) was achieved when rats were orally dosed with NITD008 at 50 mg/kg daily for 1 week. However, NOAEL could not be accomplished when rats and dogs were dosed daily for 2 weeks. Nevertheless, our results have proved the concept that a nucleoside inhibitor could be developed for potential treatment of flavivirus infections.

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ABSTRACT:The absorption, metabolism, and excretion of (1-[[3-hydroxy-1-adamantyl) amino] acetyl]-2-cyano-(S)-pyrrolidine (vildagliptin), an orally active and highly selective dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, were evaluated in four healthy male subjects after a single p.o. 100-mg dose of [ 14 C]vildagliptin. Serial blood and complete urine and feces were collected for 168 h postdose. Vildagliptin was rapidly absorbed, and peak plasma concentrations were attained at 1.1 h postdose. The fraction of drug absorbed was calculated to be at least 85.4%. Unchanged drug and a carboxylic acid metabolite (M20.7) were the major circulating components in plasma, accounting for 25.7% (vildagliptin) and 55% (M20.7) of total plasma radioactivity area under the curve. The terminal half-life of vildagliptin was 2.8 h. Complete recovery of the dose was achieved within 7 days, with 85.4% recovered in urine (22.6% unchanged drug) and the remainder in feces (4.54% unchanged drug). Vildagliptin was extensively metabolized via at least four pathways before excretion, with the major metabolite M20.7 resulting from cyano group hydrolysis, which is not mediated by cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes. Minor metabolites resulted from amide bond hydrolysis (M15.3), glucuronidation (M20.2), or oxidation on the pyrrolidine moiety of vildagliptin (M20.9 and M21.6). The diverse metabolic pathways combined with a lack of significant P450 metabolism (1.6% of the dose) make vildagliptin less susceptible to potential pharmacokinetic interactions with comedications of P450 inhibitors/inducers. Furthermore, as vildagliptin is not a P450 inhibitor, it is unlikely that vildagliptin would affect the metabolic clearance of comedications metabolized by P450 enzymes.

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During pregnancy, a drug's pharmacokinetics may be altered and hence anticipation of potential systemic exposure changes is highly desirable. Physiologically based pharmacokinetics (PBPK) models have recently been used to influence clinical trial design or to facilitate regulatory interactions. Ideally, whole-body PBPK models can be used to predict a drug's systemic exposure in pregnant women based on major physiological changes which can impact drug clearance (i.e., in the kidney and liver) and distribution (i.e., adipose and fetoplacental unit). We described a simple and readily implementable multitissue/organ whole-body PBPK model with key pregnancy-related physiological parameters to characterize the PK of reference drugs (metformin, digoxin, midazolam, and emtricitabine) in pregnant women compared with the PK in nonpregnant or postpartum (PP) women. Physiological data related to changes in maternal body weight, tissue volume, cardiac output, renal function, blood flows, and cytochrome P450 activity were collected from the literature and incorporated into the structural PBPK model that describes HV or PP women PK data. Subsequently, the changes in exposure (area under the curve (AUC) and maximum concentration (C max)) in pregnant women were simulated. Model-simulated PK profiles were overall in agreement with observed data. The prediction fold error for C max and AUC ratio (pregnant vs. nonpregnant) was less than 1.3-fold, indicating that the pregnant PBPK model is useful. The utilization of this simplified model in drug development may aid in designing clinical studies to identify potential exposure changes in pregnant women a priori for compounds which are mainly eliminated renally or metabolized by CYP3A4.

Following a lipophilicity-based hypothesis, an 8-hydroxyquinolinone 2-aminoindan derived series of beta(2)-adrenoceptor agonists have been prepared and evaluated for their potential as inhaled ultralong-acting bronchodilators. Determination of their activities at the human beta(2)-adrenoceptor receptor showed symmetrical substitution of the 2-aminoindan moiety at the 5- and 6-positions delivered the targeted intermediate potency and intrinsic-efficacy profiles relative to a series of clinical reference beta(2)-adrenoceptor agonists. Further assessment with an in vitro superfused electrically stimulated guinea-pig tracheal-strip assay established the onset and duration of action time courses, which could be rationalized by considering the lipophilicity, potency, and intrinsic efficacy of the compounds. From these studies the 5,6-diethylindan analogue indacaterol 1c was shown to possess a unique profile of combining a rapid onset of action with a long duration of action. Further in vivo profiling of 1c supported the long duration of action and a wide therapeutic index following administration to the lung, which led to the compound being selected as a development candidate.