Abstract 4540: Development of orally bioavailable formulation of WP1066 and its evaluation in vivo
Authors: Zielinski Rafal , Rusin Aleksandra , Madden Timothy , Conrad Charles , Johansen Mary , Fokt Izabela , Skora Stanislaw , Jayakumar Arumugam , Heimberger Amy , Priebe Waldemar 
Published: August 2015

Background: Our drug discovery program has led to the development of a series of diverse, unique small molecule drugs targeting the key oncogenic transcription factor STAT3 which drives diverse human cancers. WP1066 was selected as a lead drug because of its drug-like properties, therapeutic window and validated in vivo activity in a broad range of tumor models. During the process of WP1066 development as a clinical phase new agent, we developed and further characterized an orally bioavailable formulation of WP1066 using a spray dried oral formulation.

Methods: The spray dried formulation of WP1066 (SDD1) was prepared using Hypermellose acetate succinate (HPMCAS) as an enteric coating film. HPMCAS is a mixture of acetic and monosuccinic acid esters of hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose. While insoluble in gastric fluids, the SDD1 formulation swells and leads to rapid dissolution in the higher pH found in upper small intestine, and subsequent release of the drug. For theses studies SDD1 was characterized for size, stability and purity.

Single and multiple-dose toxicity studies were done in female CD-1 mice, using 5% dextrose as a vehicle. Single dose PK and organ distribution analysis was performed after oral gavage administration of 200 mg/kg after 12 hour fasting. Animals were sacrifice at different time-points (2 min to 24 hours). Plasma, brain and pancreas were isolated and the apparent concentration of WP1066 was determined using HPLC/MS/MS analysis. For multi-dose PK analysis, animals were fasted for six hours, dosed with SDD1 at 200 mg/kg. Animals were euthanized at different time intervals after the second dose (given six hours after first dose).

Results: Mice dosed with SDD1 did not show any apparent toxicity when administered up to 200 mg/kg. For multiple doses, mice received 50, 100 or 200 mg/kg of WP1066 in SDD1 every day for 28 days. No apparent toxicity or significant weight lost was observed. In a similar way, animals dosed twice a day with 200 mg/kg of WP1066 (SDD1) for 15 doses did not show any symptoms of toxicity. Pilot PK analysis confirmed dose-dependent absorption of WP1066. Single-dose PK analysis revealed rapid GI absorption with a TMAX = 45 min and CMAX in plasma 1.5 μg/ml (which corresponds to ∼4 μM). The estimated half-life was approximately 3 hrs. Similar parameters were obtained from PK analysis performed in canines. SDD1 dosing led to significant accumulation of WP1066 in intact brain and pancreatic tissues in mice. These results support further preclinical development of SDD1 formulated WP1066 aimed the initiation of clinical studies in pancreatic, brain cancer and melanoma metastasis to brain patients.

Acknowledgment: These studies were supported in part by the grants: Brain SPORE (2 P50 CA127001), Melanoma SPORE (2 P50 CA093459); Viragh Foundation, Houston Pharmaceuticals.

Citation Format: Rafal Zielinski, Aleksandra Rusin, Timothy Madden, Charles Conrad, Mary Johansen, Izabela Fokt, Stanislaw Skora, Arumugam Jayakumar, Amy Heimberger, Waldemar Priebe. Development of orally bioavailable formulation of WP1066 and its evaluation in vivo. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4540. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4540