The Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS), developed in the 1990s for oral immediate release drugs, is utilized by R&D scientists and regulators to streamline product development and regulatory approval timelines. This elegant, science-based approach is based on three in vitro parameters representing a combination of drug substance physicochemical and physiological properties with respect to oral administration; specifically a dose number, dissolution number, and absorption number. Interest in applying similar principles to pulmonary drug products is increasing. To date the focus has been on dissolution of drugs in the lung. A workshop co-sponsored by the AAPS, FDA, and USP was held in March 2015 in Baltimore to evaluate if a systematic framework to classify pulmonary drugs could be established, and the scope and relevance of such a classification scheme. The focus of the workshop was to address factors influencing drug delivery and action in the lungs rather than the development of a specific model or system. Presentations included: the history and evolution of the oral BCS (described as the "giBCS" by Gordon Amidon), lung physiology and the fate of inhaled drugs, regional aerosol deposition and dose, macroscopic clearance mechanisms, particle dissolution, drug permeability, absorption and their interplay with pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Background discussions were followed by three separate breakout sessions each focused on the BCS concepts of dose, dissolution, and absorption numbers as they would apply to pulmonary drug delivery. The workshop concluded that a classification system, if fully developed, would be a useful tool for formulators and discovery chemists. The scope of such a system, at this point in time, would not include aspects relevant to regulatory relief. The goals of the workshop were met by identifying an opportunity to develop a model to classify pulmonary drugs based on physicochemical attributes specific to lung physiology and drug delivery.

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The tissue biodistribution and expression of [33P]DNA-1-[2-[9-(Z)-octadecenoyloxy]ethyl]]-2-[8](Z)-heptadece nyl]-3 -[hydroxyethyl]imidazolinium chloride (DOTIM):cholesterol complexes and 33P-radiolabeled DNA expressing chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT; 4.7 kB) were studied after intravenous (iv) injection in ICR mice. Mice were injected with 200 microL of complex containing DNA at 3 mg/kg or DNA alone. One group received 8 microCi of radioactivity and were sacrificed at 5 and 20 min, and 1, 2, 4 and 24 h post-dose (n = 4/time point). A second group received the equivalent of 3.9 microCi of radioactivity and were sacrificed at 20 min, and 2 and 24 h for subsequent whole body autoradiographic analysis (WBA; n = 2/time point). The tissue distribution of intact DNA was assessed by Southern blot at 24 h post-dose, whereas the integrity of complexes and DNA incubated in heparinized whole blood was studied separately. In further studies, the time course of expression in lung tissue over a 48-h period was examined, and the relative lung-expression of purified open circular (OC) versus supercoiled (SC) DNA at 24 h was evaluated. Approximately 42% of the radioactivity was found in the lungs 5 min after injection and about half this percentage was found in the liver. By 2 h, only 5% remained in the lungs, but 48% was present in the liver. No other tissue accumulated >5% of the dose throughout the duration of the study. WBA radiograms confirmed the tissue distribution results and highlighted significant accumulation of radioactivity in bone over time. Southern Blot analysis demonstrated intact DNA in many tissues 24 h after dosing. In contrast, the majority of DNA incubated in blood was degraded within 2 h, although the complexes afforded some protection relative to DNA alone. The OC DNA expressed equivalently to SC DNA in lung tissue (OC = 1035 +/- 183 pg; SC = 856 +/- 257 pg/mg soluble protein, n = 6, mean +/- SEM) at 24 h, and detectable levels of CAT were present within 2 h of dosing (21.3 +/- 7.2 pg, n >/= 8, mean +/- SD). The results confirm that DNA-DOTIM:cholesterol complexes are initially deposited in the lungs after iv administration.

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