RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Metabolism of Flumatinib, a Novel Antineoplastic Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Patients JF Drug Metabolism and Disposition JO Drug Metab Dispos FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics SP 1328 OP 1340 DO 10.1124/dmd.110.032326 VO 38 IS 8 A1 Gong, Aishen A1 Chen, Xiaoyan A1 Deng, Pan A1 Zhong, Dafang YR 2010 UL http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/38/8/1328.abstract AB 4-(4-Methyl-piperazin-1-ylmethyl)-N-[6-methyl-5-(4-pyridin-3-yl-pyrimidin-2-ylamino)-pyridin-3-yl]-3-trifluoromethyl-benzamide (flumatinib, HH-GV678), an antineoplastic tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is currently in Phase I clinical trials in China for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The purpose of this study was to identify the metabolites of flumatinib in CML patients, with the aim of determining the main metabolic pathways of flumatinib in humans after oral administration. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry revealed 34 metabolites; 7 primary metabolites were confirmed by comparison with synthetic reference standards. The results show that the parent drug flumatinib was the main form recovered in human plasma, urine, and feces. The main metabolites of flumatinib in humans were the products of N-demethylation, N-oxidation, hydroxylation, and amide hydrolysis. In addition to these phase I metabolites, several phase II glucuronidation and acetylation products were detected in plasma, urine, and feces. The observed circulating metabolites included an N-demethylated metabolite (M1), two hydrolytic metabolites (M3, M4), oxidation metabolites (M2-1, M2-4, M2-7, M2-9, and M14), a glucuronide conjugate (M16-2), and several multiple metabolic products. Flumatinib was predominantly metabolized by amide bond cleavage to yield two corresponding hydrolytic products. By comparison with the related drug 4-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-ylmethyl)-N-[4-methyl-3-(4-pyridin-3-yl-pyrimidin-2-ylamino)-phenyl]-benzamide (imatinib), we concluded that the electron-withdrawing groups of trifluoromethyl and pyridine facilitated the amide bond cleavage and led to the in vivo formation of a carboxylic acid and an amine.