A PHASE-I DOSE-RANGING SAFETY AND PHARMACOKINETICS STUDY OF A NOVEL ORAL THROMBOXANE SYNTHASE INHIBITOR, FCE-22, 178

A 100- to 3200-mg dose range of FCE 22,178 was studied in this phase I single-dose escalation safety/kinetics study. After oral administration, a rapid drug absorptive phase and a biexponential disposition profile were observed. Mean estimates of the terminal elimination half-life of FCE 22,178, over the doses studied, ranged from 7.6 to 14.4 hours. A disproportionate increase in both maximum peak plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC0-infinity) was noticed for doses higher than 400 mg. Mean estimates of systemic clearance (CL(s)/F) over the 100- to 400-mg doses were 0.053 to 0.064 L/hour/kg, and were significantly higher for the three higher dose levels. This nonlinearity appears to be related to the changes in oral bioavailability. Estimates of distribution volume (Vd, lambda(z)/F) for FCE 22,178 increased from 0.75 L/kg at the 100-mg dose to 3.00 L/kg at the 3200-mg dose, and renal clearance (CL(r)) also increased with dose. Both observations may be related to an increase in free fraction of FCE 22,178 at higher doses. Urinary excretion of unchanged drug averaged <10% for all dose levels. The urinary excretion of the glucuronide metabolite (M1) averaged 41 to 70% for doses up to 400 mg, but diminished to 13% at the 3200-mg dose. The disposition of M1 appeared to be formation-rate limited. In addition, the ratio of the formation to the disposition clearance for M1 was relatively stable and apparently dose independent. No drug-related adverse experiences were observed over the studied dose range after single doses at FCE 22,178.