Powder-in-bottle formulation of SU011248. Enabling rapid progression into human clinical trials

SU011248 is an oral, multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (anti PDGFR, VEGFR, Kit, and Flt3) for the treatment of solid tumors. The powder-in-bottle (PIB) approach was used to accelerate development and introduction into Phase I clinical trials. This approach consists of extemporaneously compounding the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) into a solution or a suspension in the clinic prior to oral administration. The development consisted of physico-chemical assessment, constitution fluid selection, weighing and dosing validation, and stability evaluation of API, before and after constitution with the fluid. Of the oral liquids evaluated, apple juice was selected as the constitution fluid. Particle size of SU011248 had an impact on the weighing validation and the dissolution time. Particle size specifications of breadth d90 < 180 microm and length d90 < 750 microm were set to achieve pharmaceutical acceptability. Dosing validation studies showed complete recovery of SU011248 from the bottle over a dose range of 10 to 2200 mg. SU011248 is stable as the solid API. Following constitution with apple juice, the product is stable through the predicted duration of compounding and dosing at the clinical site. This approach provided a high degree of dosing flexibility during the initial phase of clinical trials. Additionally, the PIB approach reduced the time and API required for clinical development and supplies to < 2 months and < 100 gm, respectively.