METABOLISM, PHARMACOKINETICS, TISSUE DISTRIBUTION, AND EXCRETION OF [14C]CP-424391 IN RATS

CP-424391, 2-amino- N -[3a R -benzyl-2-methyl-3-oxo-2,3,3a,4,6,7-hexahydro-pyrazolo[4,3-c]pyridin-5-yl)-1 R -benzyloxymethyl-2-oxoethyl]-isobutyramide, is an orally active growth hormone secretagogue currently being developed. In this study, we investigated the metabolic fate and disposition of radiolabeled CP-424391 in rats. Following 15 mg/kg single oral administration to Sprague-Dawley rats, 91% of the radiolabeled dose was recovered. Feces was the major route of excretion: 77% of the dose recovered in feces of the female rat and 84% in the male. Excretion in the urine was 15% in the female rat compared with 7% in the male. Both fecal and urinary metabolic profiles were consistent in both genders. The metabolic pathways of CP-424391 were oxidation at the benzyl group of the O -benzylserine moiety, N -demethylation of pyrazolidine, and/or O -debenzylation. In circulation, CP-424391 was absorbed within the first hour to an average apparent C max of 1.44 μg/ml. CP-424391 accounts for about 40% of radioactivity area under the plasma concentration-time curve and C max in circulation. The plasma terminal elimination half-life of CP-424391 was 2.4 h and for total radioactivity was 2.8 h. The radioactivity was widely distributed in all tissues except for the central nervous system. [14C]CP-424391 radioactivity was eliminated from most tissues by 9 h with the exception of liver, skin, and uvea. By 168 h, [14C]CP-424391 radioactivity remained localized only in the uvea.