Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of linaprazan glurate in rats

Abstract

Linaprazan (AZD0865, TX07) is one of potassium-competitive acid blockers. However, linaprazan is rapidly excreted from the body, shortening its acid inhibition property. Linaprazan glurate (X842) is a prodrug of linaprazan with a prolonged inhibitory effect on gastric acid secretion. Linaprazan glurate has entered clinical trials, but few studies have reported its metabolism in non-clinical and clinical settings. In this study, we studied the pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution, mass balance, and metabolism of linaprazan glurate in rats after a single oral dose of 2.4 mg/kg (100 µCi/kg) [14C]linaprazan glurate. The results demonstrated that linaprazan glurate was mainly excreted via feces in rats with 70.48% of the dose over 168 h. The plasma AUC0–∞ of linaprazan glurate in female rats was 2 times higher than that in male rats. Drug-related substances were mainly concentrated in the stomach, eyes, liver, small intestine, and large intestine after administration. In blood, drug-related substances were mostly distributed into plasma instead of hemocytes. In total, 13 metabolites were detected in rat plasma, urine, feces, and bile. M150 (2,6-dimethylbenzoic acid) was the predominant metabolite in plasma, accounting for 80.65% and 67.65% of AUC0–24h in male and female rats, respectively. Based on the structures, linaprazan glurate was mainly hydrolyzed into linaprazan, followed by a series of oxidation, dehydrogenation, and glucuronidation in rats. Besides, CES2 is the main metabolic enzyme involved in the hydrolysis of linaprazan glurate to linaprazan.