Pharmacology and Safety of SB-497115-GR, an Orally Active Small Molecular Weight TPO Receptor Agonist, in Chimpanzees, Rats and Dogs.

SB 497115-GR is a small molecular weight Tpo receptor (TpoR) agonist that has properties similar to thrombopoietin (TPO), primarily inducing proliferation and differentiation of megakaryocytes from bone marrow progenitor cells. SB-497115-GR is being developed for the treatment of thrombocytopenias, such as immune thrombocytopenic purpura. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that SB-497115-GR has very distinct species specificity. SB-497115 or other molecules in this class induced dose dependent STAT activation in platelets from humans and chimpanzees but not in platelets from laboratory animal species commonly used in drug safety studies. In order to demonstrate in vivo activity of SB-497115-GR, a single dose and 5 daily dose pharmacology and safety study in chimpanzees was conducted. To support initiation of clinical trials, a comprehensive package of toxicology studies was conducted including studies up to 14 days duration in rats and dogs. All procedures involving the care and use of animals in these studies were reviewed and approved by the appropriate Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. Female chimpanzees (1–3/group) were administered vehicle or SB-497115-GR at doses of 0.1 to 10 mg/kg/day by oral gavage. For toxicology studies, SB-497115-GR was administered orally to rats (10/sex/group) by gavage at doses of 3 to 40 mg/kg/day and to dogs (3/sex/group) by capsule at doses of 3 to 30 mg/kg/day for 14 days. SB-497115-GR was well tolerated in chimpanzees, rats and dogs at all doses tested. In chimpanzees, no treatment related increases in platelet counts were observed after administration of single doses of up to 10 mg/kg or 5 daily doses of up to 3 mg/kg/day. However, following 5 daily doses of 10 mg/kg/day SB-497115-GR, there was a 1.3- to 2.4-fold increase in circulating platelet counts in 3 chimpanzees. A similar change in reticulated platelet counts was observed preceding this increase. In contrast, there was no effect of treatment for up to 14 days on platelet counts in rats or dogs. In conclusion, SB-497115-GR, an orally bioavailable small molecular weight agonist of the TpoR, has been shown to increase platelet counts in chimpanzees. These in vivo data confirm the in vitro data demonstrating the unique species-specific effects of this novel Tpo receptor agonist on platelets and were predictive of a pharmacodynamic effect currently being observed in human clinical trials.