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Optimising proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) for oral drug delivery: a drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics perspective


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PROTACs have become an established modality with examples reaching the clinic. PROTACs often breach “rule-of-5” limits, but oral bioavailability is achievable. The wide range of physicochemical properties can challenge ADME assays. The complex metabolism of PROTACs can potentially impact pharmacodynamics. Lessons learned supporting PROTAC oral drug discovery will be highlighted.

Proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are an emerging therapeutic modality with the potential to open target space not accessible to conventional small molecules via a degradation-based mechanism; however, their bifunctional nature can result in physicochemical properties that breach commonly accepted limits for small-molecule oral drugs. We offer a drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) perspective on the optimisation of oral PROTACs across a diverse set of projects within Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca, highlighting some of the challenges that they have presented to our established screening cascade. Furthermore, we challenge some of the perceptions and dogma surrounding the feasibility of oral PROTACS and demonstrate that acceptable oral PK properties for this modality can be regularly achievable despite the physicochemical property challenges they present.

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