Development of a Novel Anti-Tumor Drug 'Amrubicin', a Completely
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Development of a novel anti-tumor Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. Drug Research Division drug ‘amrubicin’, a completely Toshihiro NOGUCHI synthetic anthracycline Mitsuharu HANADA Takashi YAMAOKA Intellectual Property Shinya MORISADA Drug Development Division Shinji ICHII Amrubicin is a completely synthetic anthracycline derivative. In contrast, however, the anthracyclines used clinically thus far have been produced by fermentation or semisynthesis. Amrubicin is structurally dis- tinguishable from other anthracyclines by the amino group at the 9-position and its unique sugar moiety. In April 2002, Amrubicin was approved in Japan for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. This paper is translated from R&D Report, “SUMITOMO KAGAKU”, vol. 2005-II. Introduction amrubicin (AMR, Fig. 1) by screening the derivatives created through total synthesis. It is the world’s first Anthracycline derivatives such as doxorubicin anthracycline anti-cancer agent produced through total (DXR), daunorubicin (DNR) and epirubicin have been chemical synthesis. AMR possesses the amino group widely used for a variety of carcinomas in the clinical instead of the hydroxyl group at the 9-position. The context. In order to discover safer, more effective anti- structure of AMR is such that it possesses a simpler tumor derivatives, numerous carbon side chain carbohydrate part instead of amino sugar.2) AMR replacement and amino sugar conversions have been demonstrates a higher anti-tumor effect than that of conducted since DNR and DXR were discovered from DXR against the human tumor xenografts that have actinomyces.1) However, despite such attempts many been implanted subcutaneously into nude mice.3) It has derivatives have not shown better profiles than DXR. been confirmed that its active metabolite amrubicinol Because these anthracycline derivatives are either nat- (AMR-OH, Fig. 1) plays an important role in its anti- ural products or semi-synthetic products, they are tumor effect.4) It is a distinctive characteristic of AMR, structurally limited. In order to have more effective given that it cannot be seen in any other anthracycline derivatives, we have discovered hydrochloric acid derivative. The major action mechanism of AMR is the O OH O O OH O OH O OH C CH3 CH CH3 C CH2OH NH2 NH2 OH O OH O OH H3CO O OH O O O O O H3C O OH OH NH2 OH OH OH Amrubicin (AMR) Amrubicinol (AMR-OH) Doxorubicin (DXR) Chemical structures of amrubicin (left), amrubicinol (center) and doxorubicn (right) Fig. 1 Chemical structures SUMITOMO KAGAKU (English 2005-II Edition) 2005-II, Report 2 Copyright © 2005 Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. 1 Development of a novel anti-tumor drug ‘amrubicin’, a completely synthetic anthracycline stabilization of cleavable complex via DNA topoiso- the 13-position ketone is more easily reduced in the merase II (Topo II).5) above three agents. It also appears that the hydroxyl The manufacture of AMR for the application to non- group at the 14-position participates in the reduction. small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer was Moreover, the common characteristic seen in IDR and approved in April 2002. The efficacy and pharmacologi- AMR is that neither of the agents possesses the cal action of AMR and the results of clinical testing con- methoxy group at the 4-position. This characteristic ducted on AMR are described below: seems to influence activity in a reduced form at the 13- position. It is speculated that the fact the metabolism at Efficacy and Pharmacological Action of Amru- the 13-position enhances activity is one of the major bicin Hydrochloride characteristics unique to AMR. Additionally, using 17 human tumor cell lines we 1. In Vitro Cell Proliferation Inhibitory Effect examined the in vitro cell proliferation inhibitory As with other anthracycline agents, it has been found effects of AMR, AMR-OH and DXR.9) Two drug treat- that AMR also generates amurubicinol (AMR-OH) in ment methods were utilized: three-day continuous drug which the 13-position ketone group has been replaced exposure and one-hour drug exposure. The concentra- with the alcohol group, as well as aglycone metabolite tion (IC50 value) at which cell proliferation is inhibited in which the carbohydrate part has been detached.6) by 50% was then obtained for each cell line (Fig. 2). Comparing the cell-proliferation inhibitory effects of Subsequently, activity levels were compared using the these metabolites and that of their parent compound IC50 value as an index. The activity of AMR-OH was 5 – AMR against four human tumor-cell lines, it has been 20 times higher than that of AMR, which was a level of observed that AMR-OH was more active than AMR and activity similar to DXR. From the results of experimen- that the activity levels of all three aglycones and a tation using these cell lines, no significant difference deaminoderivative were low (Table 1). Although the was observed between the DXR spectrum and the reduced form of the 13-position of idarubicin AMR/AMR-OH spectrums. hydrochloride (IDR) retains the same activity level as Next, cellular pharmacokinetics were examined in that of the parent compound,7) it has been reported order to elucidate the mechanism behind the phenom- that in other anthracycline derivatives the activity lev- enon in which the activity level of AMR-OH is greater els of metabolites in which the 13-position ketone had than that of AMR.9) Using four human tumor-cell lines, been reduced are lower than that of the parent com- intracellular drug concentrations were measured after pound.8) Daunorubicine (DNR) and IDR having struc- one hour of drug exposure to AMR and AMR-OH at tures similar to DXR are launched as a drug for various concentrations. Fig. 3 shows the intracellular leukemia. While the hydroxyl group is bound at the 14- concentrations compared to the drug concentrations position of the side chain in the DXR structure, such within the culture medium. From the result of this hydroxyl group is not seen in DAU, IDR or AMR. It experiment it has been found that the AMR-OH con- appears that as compared to DXR the ketone group at centration within the culture medium is one-tenth that Table 1 Growth Inhibition of Human Tumor Cells Following 3-Day Continuous Exposure to AMR, Its Metabolites, and DXR a) IC50 (µM)b) Drug CCRF-CEM U-937 PC-8 A-549 Amrubicin (AMR) 0.58 ± 0.03 0.48 ± 0.06 0.26 ± 0.16 0.062 ± 0.008 Amrubicinol (AMR-OH) 0.017 ± 0.008 0.0071 ± 0.0011 0.021 ± 0.015 0.0079 ± 0.0022 7-Deoxyamrubicin aglycone 1.1 ± 0.1 13 ± 0 1.3 ± 0.4 0.80 ± 0.21 Amrubicinol aglycone 0.79 ± 0.04 0.76 ± 0.08 0.76 ± 0.27 0.45 ± 0.25 7-Deoxyamrubicinol aglycone 0.73 ± 0.02 0.93 ± 0.00 0.92 ± 0.25 0.77 ± 0.16 9-Deaminoamrubicin 1.2 ± 0.3 2.3 ± 0.2 9.2 ± 5.4 0.70 ± 0.08 Doxorubicin (DXR) 0.034 ± 0.001 0.010 ± 0.001 0.010 ± 0.004 0.0057 ± 0.0000 a) Cells were grown in medium containing various concentrations of the drugs for 3 days. b) The data are the mean IC50 vallue (µM) ± standard deviation of two experiments. CCRF-CEM and U-937 are hematopoietec cell lines; A549 and PC-8 are lung cancer cell lines. SUMITOMO KAGAKU (English 2005-II Edition) 2005-II, Report 2 Copyright © 2005 Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. 2 Development of a novel anti-tumor drug ‘amrubicin’, a completely synthetic anthracycline 1 test the drug concentrations within a culture medium (IC50 value) that possesses a cell proliferation inhibito- 0.1 ry effect of 50% and the intracellular drug concentra- M) µ ( tions at this level of effect were compared as the ratio 50 IC 0.01 between AMR and AMR-OH. While the ratio of medi- um concentration became 27 to 67 times greater, that 0.001 of intracellular concentration became 3 to 7 times 100 greater. This result indicates that AMR-OH is absorbed 10 into the cells approximately 10 times more easily than M) AMR. The result also suggests that the activity level of µ 1 ( 50 AMR-OH is several times higher than that of AMR IC 0.1 without the difference of cellular uptake ratio. 0.01 2. In Vivo Anti-Tumor Effect and Myelosuppres- 0.001 T24 sion RT-4 A549 KU-2 K562 U937 WiDr G-401 Calu-1 QG-56 Saos-2 MG-63 P3HR-1 MOLT-4 The in vivo anti-tumor effects of anti-cancer agents COLO 205 CCRF-CEM CCRF-HSB-2 are usually compared at the maximum tolerated lung colon blood kidney dosage of each agent. Therefore, a dosage at which no bladder death but weight loss of a maximum 3g (15%) occurs osteosarcoma within two weeks after the administration was deter- Growth-inhibitory activities of AMR ( ), AMR-OH ( ) and DXR ( ) on human tumor cells with a 1-h (lower) or 3-day (upper) mined as the maximum tolerated dosage of AMR for a drug exposure. In the 1-h drug exposure test, cells were single intravenous administration. From the results of incubated for 1 h with drugs, and grown in drug-free medium for experiments conducted on four types of mice 3 days. In the 3-day continuous drug exposure test, cells were grown in the medium containing drugs for 3 days. Results are (BALB/c, ICR, CDF1 and BDF1), the maximum toler- expressed as mean IC50 value of two or three experiments. ated dosages of AMR and DXR were determined as 25 Fig. 2 Growth-inhibitory activities mg/kg and 12.5 mg/kg, respectively.10) The results of animal experiments conducted using these maximum tolerated dosages are shown below.