AIMSThis study investigated the tolerability, safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ponesimod, a novel oral selective sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P1) receptor modulator in development for the treatment of auto-immune diseases. METHODSThis was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending, single-dose study. Healthy male subjects received doses of 1-75 mg or placebo control. RESULTSPonesimod was well tolerated. Starting with a dose of 8 mg, transient asymptomatic reductions in heart rate were observed. Ponesimod pharmacokinetics were dose proportional. The median time to maximal concentration ranged from 2.0 to 4.0 h, and ponesimod was eliminated with a mean half-life varying between 21.7 and 33.4 h. Food had a minimal effect on ponesimod pharmacokinetics. Doses of Ն8 mg reduced total lymphocyte count in a dose-dependent manner. Lymphocyte counts returned to normal ranges within 96 h. A pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model was developed that adequately described the observed effects of ponesimod on total lymphocyte counts. CONCLUSIONSSingle doses of ponesimod up to and including 75 mg were well tolerated. The results of this ascending single-dose study indicate an immunomodulator potential for ponesimod and a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile consistent with once-a-day dosing. WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT• Fingolimod, a nonselective sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) immunomodulator, reduces circulating lymphocytes via the S1P1 receptor and decreases heart rate, which may be associated with its effects on the S1P3 receptor.• Ponesimod is selective for S1P1 receptors. It has the potential to reduce lymphocytes without cardiac effects. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS• This study provides information on the tolerability, safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ponesimod, a selective S1P1 modulator, a potential new treatment for auto-immune diseases.• Ponesimod induces a clear dose-dependent effect on circulating lymphocytes in accordance with animal data.• Ponesimod has a shorter half-life than other S1P modulators, allowing a faster reversibility of its effects.• Although preclinical data indicated no cardiac effects with ponesimod, human data showed a clear effect on heart rate. This suggests that cardiac effects of S1P modulators in humans are not only mediated by the S1P3 receptor, but also by the S1P1 receptor.

This multiple-ascending-dose study investigated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ponesimod, an S1P1 receptor modulator and a potential new treatment for autoimmune diseases. In part A, 10 healthy male and female subjects received once daily oral doses of ponesimod (5, 10, or 20 mg) or placebo for 7 days. Sinus bradycardia and, in some subjects, atrioventricular (AV) block occurred primarily on the first day of dosing, as desensitization developed to ponesimod-induced heart rate (HR) reduction and PR-prolongation. This elicited the design of an up-titration schedule in 17 subjects to a dose of 40 mg in part B. The up-titration regimen reduced HR and PQ/PR effects. Reported adverse events were mainly related to the cardiac and respiratory systems. Respiratory effects increased with higher doses. Ponesimod multiple-dose pharmacokinetics were slightly more than dose-proportional and characterized by a time to maximum concentration and an elimination half-life varying from 2.5 to 4.0 hours and 30.9 to 33.5 hours, respectively, and an accumulation of about 2.3-fold. Ponesimod caused a dose-dependent sustained decrease in total lymphocyte count, reversible within 7 days of discontinuation. A pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model enabled comparing day 1 and steady-state conditions. These results warrant further investigation of ponesimod in patients.

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Two open-label randomized cross-over studies in Japanese smokers investigated the single-use nicotine pharmacokinetic profile of the Tobacco Heating System (THS) 2.2, cigarettes (CC) and nicotine replacement therapy (Gum). In each study, one on the regular and one on the menthol variants of the THS and CC, both using Gum as reference, 62 subjects were randomized to four sequences: Sequence 1: THS - CC (n = 22); Sequence 2: CC - THS (n = 22); Sequence 3: THS - Gum (n = 9); Sequence 4: Gum - THS (n = 9). Plasma nicotine concentrations were measured in 16 blood samples collected over 24 h after single use. Maximal nicotine concentration (C) and area under the curve from start of product use to time of last quantifiable concentration (AUC) were similar between THS and CC in both studies, with ratios varying from 88 to 104% for C and from 96 to 98% for AUC. Urge-to-smoke total scores were comparable between THS and CC. The THS nicotine pharmacokinetic profile was close to CC, with similar levels of urge-to-smoke. This suggests that THS can satisfy smokers and be a viable alternative to cigarettes for adult smokers who want to continue using tobacco.

Ponesimod is an orally active selective sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 modulator under investigation for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. This was a single-centre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-and positive-controlled parallel-group study investigating the effects of ponesimod on the QTc interval in healthy individuals. A nested cross-over comparison between moxifloxacin and placebo was included in the combined moxifloxacin/placebo treatment group. Subjects in group A received multiple doses of 10-100 mg ponesimod according to an uptitration regimen on days 2-23 and moxifloxacin-matching placebo on days 1 and 24. Subjects in group B received ponesimod-matching placebo on days 2-23 and were randomized to receive either a single dose of 400 mg moxifloxacin or matching placebo on days 1 and 24. The primary end-point was the baselineadjusted, placebo-corrected effect on the individually corrected QT interval (QTcI) on days 12 (after 5 days of 40 mg ponesimod) and 23 (after 5 days of 100 mg ponesimod). Ponesimod caused a mild QTcI prolongation with a largest effect of 6.9 ms (90% two-sided confidence interval (CI): 2.5-11.3) and 9.1 ms (90% CI: 4.1-14.0) for doses of 40 mg and 100 mg, respectively. A concentration-effect analysis confirmed the QTcI-prolonging effect of ponesimod with a shallow slope of 0.0053 ms per ng/mL. Using the concentration-effect analysis, the QTc prolongation caused by 20 mg ponesimod and the current highest therapeutic dose was predicted to be below the level of clinical concern (i.e. an upper bound of the two-sided 90% CI of ≥10 ms).Drugs may cause QT prolongation, which can result in potentially lethal adverse pro-arrhythmic events such as Torsades de pointes [1]. QT prolongation has been one of the most common causes for drug non-approval by health authorities or for drug withdrawal from the market [2]. Examples of the latter are terfenadine, dofetilide, clobutinol and grepafloxacin [2][3][4]. In 2005, the International Conference on Harmonisation issued a guideline for the clinical assessment of a drug's potential to cause QT prolongation, in which a designated study was requested for nearly all drugs with systemic exposure as a preapproval obligation [5,6]. This so-called thorough QT study is typically performed in healthy individuals and is considered negative when an effect of the drug above 10 ms can be excluded.Ponesimod (ACT-128800) is an orally active, selective sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P 1 ) modulator [7,8]. Modulation of S1P receptors is a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of autoimmune diseases [9][10][11] by decreasing lymphocyte count in peripheral blood [12], and ponesimod has shown promising results for the treatment of relapsingremitting multiple sclerosis [13]. The pharmacokinetics of ponesimod in healthy individuals is dose proportional and has been reported previously [14,15]. In brief, after multiple dosing, the time to the maximum concentration (t max ) was 2.5-4 hr, the apparent elimination half-life (t 1/2 ) was about 30 h...

Ponesimod (ACT-128800), a reversible, orally active, selective S1P1 receptor modulator, prevents the egress of lymphocytes from the lymph node into the systemic circulation. It is currently in clinical development for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis. Modulation of circulating lymphocytes serves as biomarker of efficacy and safety, such that the quantitative characterization of the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) relationship guides the clinical development of the compound. The availability of a variety of doses, dosing regimens, and treatment durations permitted estimation of the pharmacokinetics characterized by an absorption lag time followed by a sequential zero/first-order absorption and two compartments with first-order elimination. The PD are modeled as an indirect-effect model with rates of appearance and disappearance of lymphocytes in blood with a circadian rhythm and a drug effect on the rate of appearance. The model suggests a circadian variation of 9% and a maximum inhibition of 86% of total lymphocyte count with high doses at steady state. It was instrumental for the selection of doses for subsequent studies that confirmed the effect plateau in total lymphocyte count at approximately 0.5 × 10(9) counts/L.

Ponesimod is a selective S1P1 receptor modulator, and induces dose-dependent reduction of circulating lymphocytes upon oral dosing. Previous studies showed that single doses up to 75 mg or multiple doses up to 40 mg once daily are well tolerated, and heart rate (HR) reduction and atrio-ventricular conduction delays upon treatment initiation are reduced by gradual up-titration to the maintenance dose. This single-center, open-label, randomized, multiple-dose, 3-treatment, 3-way crossover study compared the tolerability, safety, pharmacokinetics, cardiodynamics, and effects on lymphocytes of 3 different up-titration regimens of ponesimod in healthy male and female subjects. Up-titration regimens comprised escalating periods of b.i.d. dosing (2.5 or 5 mg) and q.d. dosing (10 or 20 mg or both). After the third up-titration period a variable-duration washout period of 1-3 days was followed by re-challenge with a single 20-mg dose of ponesimod. Adverse events were transient and mild to moderate in intensity, not different between regimens. HR decrease after the first dose was greater than after all subsequent doses, including up-titration doses. Little or no HR change was observed with morning doses of b.i.d. regimens, suggesting that 2.5 and 5 mg b.i.d. are sufficient to sustain cardiac desensitization for the 12-hours dosing interval.

1. Ponesimod [(R)-5-[3-chloro-4-(-2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-benzylidene]-2-propylimino-3-o-tolyl-thiazolidin-4-one] is an orally administered, selective S1P1 receptor modulator that blocks the egress of lymphocytes from lymphoid organs and reduces the availability of circulating effector T/B-cells. 2. The mass balance, pharmacokinetics and metabolism of 40 mg (14)C-ponesimod were investigated in six healthy male subjects. The total radioactivity in whole blood, plasma, urine, faeces and expired CO2 was determined by liquid scintillation counting. Metabolite profiling was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography and detection by mass spectrometry. 3. The majority of the radioactivity (% of administered dose) was recovered in faeces (57.3-79.6%), followed by urine (10.3-18.4%) and a small proportion in CO2 from expired air (0.6-1.9%). The average cumulative recovery (mass balance) of (14)C-associated radioactivity in faeces and urine was 77.9% of the administered dose. Unchanged ponesimod made up 25.9% of total radioactivity in faeces; none was detected in urine. Ponesimod was extensively metabolised and two pharmacologically inactive metabolites, M12 (ACT-204426) and M13 (ACT-338375), were detected in the circulation. M12 corresponded to 8.1% and M13 to 25.7% of the total drug-related radioactive exposure (AUC0-∞) in plasma. M12 was highly abundant in faeces (22.3% of total radioactivity) and to a smaller extent in urine (2.5% of total radioactivity).