CPL-207-280

To assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of single and multiple doses of CPL207280, a new G‐protein‐coupled receptor 40 agonist developed to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D).

The phase 1 study in healthy volunteers (White, age 18–55 years, body mass index 18.5–29.9 kg/m2) was performed after single (24 subjects, 5–480 mg) and multiple (32 subjects, 60–480 mg) once‐daily administration of CPL207280.  The effect of food intake and interaction with metformin were evaluated in additional cohort (12 subjects, 120 mg). The primary objective was the safety and tolerability of CPL207280. Secondary objectives included PK and pharmacodynamic (PD) characteristics (glucose, insulin, C‐peptide, proinsulin, glucagon levels) observed during the 14‐day treatment period.

No deaths or serious adverse events (AEs) were reported. All reported AEs were classified as unrelated to the study product. No clinically significant differences in safety parameters were observed between cohorts and no food or metformin effect on safety parameters was identified. The ascending dose of CPL207280 caused an increase in the PK parameters maximum observed plasma concentration (Cmax) or area under the plasma concentration–time curve up to 24 h. However, dose‐normalized Cmax decreased with ascending dose. There was no relationship between the CPL207280 dose or prandial state and terminal elimination half‐life and terminal elimination rate constant. No clear relationship between CPL207280 dose and PD area under the effect curve values was observed.

CPL207280 was found to be safe and well tolerated by healthy volunteers (with a low risk of hepatotoxicity) for up to 14 days of administration. The PK profile of CPL207280 supports single‐daily administration and justifies further development of this therapy for patients with T2D.

Due to a unique mechanism that limits the possibility of hypoglycemia, the free fatty acid receptor (FFA1) is an attractive target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. So far, however, none of the promising agonists have been able to enter the market. The most advanced clinical candidate, TAK-875, was withdrawn from phase III clinical trials due to liver safety issues. In this article, we describe the key aspects leading to the discovery of CPL207280 (13), the design of which focused on long-term safety. The introduction of small, nature-inspired acyclic structural fragments resulted in compounds with retained high potency and a satisfactory pharmacokinetic profile. Optimized synthesis and upscaling provided a stable, solid form of CPL207280-51 (45) with the properties required for the toxicology studies and ongoing clinical trials.