TY - JOUR T1 - Nonclinical Pharmacokinetics, Disposition, and Drug-Drug Interaction Potential of a Novel <span class="sc">d</span>-Amino Acid Peptide Agonist of the Calcium-Sensing Receptor AMG 416 (Etelcalcetide) JF - Drug Metabolism and Disposition JO - Drug Metab Dispos SP - 1319 LP - 1331 DO - 10.1124/dmd.115.068007 VL - 44 IS - 8 AU - Raju Subramanian AU - Xiaochun Zhu AU - Savannah J. Kerr AU - Joel D. Esmay AU - Steven W. Louie AU - Katheryne Z. Edson AU - Sarah Walter AU - Michael Fitzsimmons AU - Mylo Wagner AU - Marcus Soto AU - Roger Pham AU - Sarah F. Wilson AU - Gary L. Skiles Y1 - 2016/08/01 UR - http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/44/8/1319.abstract N2 - AMG 416 (etelcalcetide) is a novel synthetic peptide agonist of the calcium-sensing receptor composed of a linear chain of seven d-amino acids (referred to as the d-amino acid backbone) with a d-cysteine linked to an l-cysteine via a disulfide bond. AMG 416 contains four basic d-arginine residues and is a +4 charged peptide at physiologic pH with a mol. wt. of 1048.3 Da. The pharmacokinetics (PK), disposition, and potential of AMG 416 to cause drug-drug interaction were investigated in nonclinical studies with two single 14C-labels placed either at a potentially metabolically labile acetyl position or on the d-alanine next to d-cysteine in the interior of the d-amino acid backbone. After i.v. dosing, the PK and disposition of AMG 416 were similar in male and female rats. Radioactivity rapidly distributed to most tissues in rats with intact kidneys, and renal elimination was the predominant clearance pathway. No strain-dependent differences were observed. In bilaterally nephrectomized rats, minimal radioactivity (1.2%) was excreted via nonrenal pathways. Biotransformation occurred primarily via disulfide exchange with endogenous thiol-containing molecules in whole blood rather than metabolism by enzymes, such as proteases or cytochrome P450s; the d-amino acid backbone remained unaltered. A substantial proportion of the plasma radioactivity was covalently conjugated to albumin. AMG 416 presents a low risk for P450 or transporter-mediated drug-drug interactions because it showed no interactions in vitro. These studies demonstrated a 14C label on either the acetyl or the d-alanine in the d-amino acid backbone would be appropriate for clinical studies. ER -