Abstract

Allitinib, a novel irreversible selective inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR) and human epidermal receptor 2 (ErbB2), is currently in clinical trials in China for the treatment of solid tumors. It is a structural analog of lapatinib but has an acrylamide side chain. Sixteen metabolites of allitinib were detected by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The pharmacologically active α,β-unsaturated carbonyl group was the major metabolic site. The metabolic pathways included O-dealkylation, amide hydrolysis, dihydrodiol formation, hydroxylation, and secondary phase II conjugation. The metabolite of amide hydrolysis (M6) and 27,28-dihydrodiol allitinib (M10) were the major pharmacologically active metabolites in the circulation. The steady-state exposure to M6 and M10 was 11% and 70% of that of allitinib, respectively. The biotransformation of allitinib was determined using microsomes and recombinant metabolic enzymes. In vitro phenotyping studies demonstrated that multiple cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoforms, mainly CYP3A4/5 and CYP1A2, were involved in the metabolism of allitinib. Thiol conjugates (M14 and M16) and dihydrodiol metabolites (M5 and M10) were detected in humans, implying the formation of reactive intermediates. The formation of a glutathione conjugate of allitinib was independent of NADPH and CYP, but was catalyzed by glutathione-S-transferase. CYP enzymes and epoxide hydrolase were involved in M10 formation. Overall, our study showed that allitinib was metabolized by the O-dealkylation pathway similar to lapatinib, but that amide hydrolysis and the formation of dihydrodiol were the dominant metabolic pathways. The absorbed allitinib was extensively metabolized by multiple enzymes.