Pharmacokinetic Studies of a Novel c-Met Targeting PROTAC Drug Candidate Using UPLC-MS/MS Quantification Methods

TPD354 is a novel Proteolysis Targeting Chimera (PROTAC) drug candidate that targets the degradation of cellular mesenchymal-epithelial transforming factor (c-Met) kinase. It showed significant therapeutic efficacy in vivo gastric cancer models. We have developed a robust and sensitive analytical method for evaluating the pharmacokinetic properties of TPD354, using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) to quantify drug concentrations in diverse biological matrices. The method was validated and applied to pharmacokinetic studies of the compound. The method exhibited excellent specificity in the linear range of 6.995-6995.000 ng/mL. Moreover, the method met or exceeded established criteria for precision, accuracy, recovery, and matrix effects, ensuring its suitability for in vivo analysis. The method was applied to the study of drug pharmacokinetics in rats, stability in different types of liver microsomes, and protein binding in plasma of different species. Our studies have demonstrated that TPD354 exhibits metabolic stability in liver microsomes and is characterized by high plasma protein binding, with a half-life of approximately 16 h in rats. These findings suggest that TPD354 is a promising PROTAC drug candidate, with strong potential for the treatment of c-Met targeted cancer.