1443470-24-3Relevant articles and documents
An effective prodrug strategy to selectively enhance ocular exposure of a cannabinoid receptor (CB1/2) agonist
Mainolfi, Nello,Powers, James,Amin, Jakal,Long, Debby,Lee, Wendy,McLaughlin, Margaret E.,Jaffee, Bruce,Brain, Christopher,Elliott, Jason,Sivak, Jeremy M.
, p. 5464 - 5472 (2013/07/26)
Glaucoma is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness, with increased intraocular pressure (IOP) a prominent risk factor. IOP can be efficaciously reduced by administration of topical agents. However, the repertoire of approved IOP-lowering drug classes is limited, and effective new alternatives are needed. Agonism of the cannabinoid receptors CB1/2 significantly reduces IOP clinically and experimentally. However, development of CB 1/2 agonists has been complicated by the need to avoid cardiovascular and psychotropic side effects. 1 is a potent CB1/2 agonist that is highly excluded from the brain. In a phase I study, compound 1 eyedrops were well tolerated and generated an IOP-lowering trend but were limited in dose and exposure due to poor solubility and ocular absorption. Here we present an innovative strategy to rapidly identify compound 1 prodrugs that are efficiently metabolized to the parent compound for improved solubility and ocular permeability while maintaining low systemic exposures.