Cladribine

Cladribine, sold under the brand name Leustatin among others, is a medication used to treat hairy cell leukemia (HCL, leukemic reticuloendotheliosis), B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS).[4][5] Its chemical name is 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (2CdA).

Cladribine
Clinical data
Trade namesLeustatin, Mavenclad, others[1]
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
MedlinePlusa693015
License data
Pregnancy
category
  • AU: D
  • US: D (Evidence of risk)
    Routes of
    administration    		Intravenous, subcutaneous (liquid), by mouth (tablet)
    ATC code
    Legal status
    Legal status
    Pharmacokinetic data
    Bioavailability100% (i.v.); 37 to 51% (orally)[2]
    Protein binding25% (range 5-50%)[3]
    MetabolismMostly via intracellular kinases; 15-18% is excreted unchanged[3]
    Elimination half-lifeTerminal elimination half-life: Approximately 10 hours after both intravenous infusion and subcutaneous bolus injection[3]
    ExcretionUrinary[3]
    Identifiers
    CAS Number
    PubChem CID
    IUPHAR/BPS
    DrugBank
    ChemSpider
    UNII
    KEGG
    ChEBI
    ChEMBL
    CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
    ECHA InfoCard100.164.726
    Chemical and physical data
    FormulaC10H12ClN5O3
    Molar mass285.69 g·mol−1
    3D model (JSmol)
      (verify)

    As a purine analog, it is a synthetic chemotherapy agent that targets lymphocytes and selectively suppresses the immune system. Chemically, it mimics the nucleoside adenosine. However, unlike adenosine it is relatively resistant to breakdown by the enzyme adenosine deaminase, which causes it to accumulate in cells and interfere with the cell's ability to process DNA. Cladribine is taken up by cells via a transporter. Once inside a cell cladribine is activated mostly in lymphocytes, when it is triphosphorylated by the enzyme deoxyadenosine kinase (dCK). Various phosphatases dephosphorylate cladribine. Activated, triphosphorylated, cladribine is incorporated into mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, which triggers apoptosis. Non-activated cladribine is removed quickly from all other cells. This means that there is very little non-target cell loss.[4][6]

    Medical uses

    Cladribine is used for as a first and second-line treatment for symptomatic hairy cell leukemia and for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and is administered by intravenous or subcutaneous infusion.[5][7]

    Since 2017, cladribine is approved as an oral formulation (10 mg tablet) for the treatment of RRMS in Europe, UAE, Argentina, Chile, Canada and Australia. Marketing authorization for RRMS and SPMS in the US was obtained in March 2019.[8][9]

    Some investigators have used the parenteral formulation orally to treat patients with HCL. It is important to note that approximately 40% of oral cladribine is bioavailable orally. It used, often in combination with other cytotoxic agents, to treat various kinds of histiocytosis, including Erdheim–Chester disease[10] and Langerhans cell histiocytosis,[11]

    Cladribine can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman and is listed by the FDA as Pregnancy Category D; safety and efficacy in children has not been established.[7]

    Adverse effects

    Injectable cladribine suppresses the body's ability to make new lymphocytes, natural killer cells and neutrophils (called myelosuppression); data from HCL studies showed that about 70% of people taking the drug had fewer white blood cells and about 30% developed infections and some of those progressed to septic shock; about 40% of people taking the drug had fewer red blood cells and became severely anemic; and about 10% of people had too few platelets.[7]

    At the dosage used to treat HCL in two clinical trials, 16% of people had rashes and 22% had nausea, the nausea generally did not lead to vomiting.[7]

    In comparison, in MS, cladribine is associated with a 6% rate of severe lymphocyte suppression (lymphopenia) (levels lower than 50% of normal). Other common side effects include headache (75%), sore throat (56%), common cold-like illness (42%) and nausea (39%)[12]

    Mechanism of Action

    As a purine analogue, it is taken up into rapidly proliferating cells like lymphocytes to be incorporated into DNA synthesis. Unlike adenosine, cladribine has a chlorine molecule at position 2, which renders it partially resistant to breakdown by adenosine deaminase (ADA). In cells it is phosphorylated into its toxic form, deoxyadenosine triphosphate, by the enzyme deoxycytidine kinase (DCK). This molecule is then incorporated into the DNA synthesis pathway, where it causes strand breakage. This is followed by the activation of transcription factor p53, the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and eventual programmed cell death (apoptosis).[13] This process occurs over approximately 2 months, with a peak level of cell depletion 4–8 weeks after treatment[14]

    Within the lymphocyte pool, cladribine targets B cells more than T cells. Both HCL and B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are types of B cell blood cancers. In MS, its effectiveness may be due to its ability to effectively deplete B cells, in particular memory B cells[15] In the pivotal phase 3 clinical trial of oral cladribine in MS, CLARITY, cladribine selectively depleted 80% of peripheral B cells, compared to only 40-50% of total T cells.[16] More recently, cladribine has been shown to induce long term, selective suppression of certain subtypes of B cells, especially memory B cells.[17]

    Another family of enzymes, the 5´nucleotidase (5NCT) family, is also capable of dephosphorylating cladribine, making it inactive. The most important subtype of this group appears to be 5NCT1A, which is cytosolically active and specific for purine analogues. When DCK gene expression is expressed as a ratio with 5NCT1A, the cells with the highest ratios are B cells, especially germinal centre and naive B cells.[17] This again helps to explain which B cells are more vulnerable to cladribine-mediated apoptosis.

    Although cladribine is selective for B cells, the long term suppression of memory B cells, which may contribute to its effect in MS, is not explained by gene or protein expression. Instead, cladribine appears to deplete the entire B cell department. However, while naive B cells rapidly move from lymphoid organs, the memory B cell pool repopulates very slowly from the bone marrow.

    History

    Ernest Beutler and Dennis A. Carson had studied adenosine deaminase deficiency and recognized that because the lack of adenosine deaminase led to the destruction of B cell lymphocytes, a drug designed to inhibit adenosine deaminase might be useful in lymphomas. Carson then synthesized cladribine, and through clinical research at Scripps starting in the 1980s, Beutler tested it as intravenous infusion and found it was especially useful to treat hairy cell leukemia (HCL). No pharmaceutical companies were interested in selling the drug because HCL was an orphan disease, so Beutler's lab synthesized and packaged it and supplied it to the hospital pharmacy; the lab also developed a test to monitor blood levels. This was the first treatment that led to prolonged remission of HCL, which was previously untreatable.[18]:14–15

    In February 1991, Scripps began a collaboration with Johnson & Johnson to bring intravenous cladribine to market and by December of that year J&J had filed an NDA; cladrabine was approved by the FDA in 1993 for HCL as an orphan drug,[19] and was approved in Europe later that year.[20]:2

    The subcutaneous formulation was developed in Switzerland in the early 1990s and it was commercialized by Lipomed GmbH in the 2000s.[20]:2[21]

    Multiple sclerosis

    In the mid-1990s Beutler, in collaboration with Jack Sipe, a neurologist at Scripps, ran several clinical trials exploring the utility of cladribine in multiple sclerosis, based on the drug's immunosuppressive effects. Sipe's insight into MS, and Beutler's interest in MS due to his sister's having had it, led a very productive collaboration.[18]:17[22] Ortho-Clinical, a subsidiary of J&J, filed an NDA for cladribine for MS in 1997 but withdrew it in the late 1990s after discussion with the FDA proved that more clinical data would be needed.[23][24]

    Ivax acquired the rights for oral administration of cladribine to treat MS from Scripps in 2000,[25] and partnered with Serono in 2002.[24] Ivax was acquired by Teva in 2006,[26][27] and Merck KGaA acquired control of Serono's drug business in 2006.[28]

    An oral formulation of the drug with cyclodextrin was developed[29]:16 and Ivax and Serono, and then Merck KGaA conducted several clinical studies. Merck KGaA submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency in 2009, which was rejected in 2010, and an appeal was denied in 2011.[29]:4–5 Likewise Merck KGaA's NDA with the FDA rejected in 2011.[30] The concerns were that several cases of cancer had arisen, and the ratio of benefit to harm was not clear to regulators.[29]:54–55 The failures with the FDA and the EMA were a blow to Merck KGaA and were one of a series of events that led to a reorganization, layoffs, and closing the Swiss facility where Serono had arisen.[31][32] However, several MS clinical trials were still ongoing at the time of the rejections, and Merck KGaA committed to completing them.[30] A meta-analysis of data from clinical trials showed that cladiribine did not increase the risk of cancer at the doses used in the clinical trials.[33]

    In 2015, Merck KGaA announced it would again seek regulatory approval with data from the completed clinical trials in hand,[31] and in 2016 the EMA accepted its application for review.[34] On June 22, 2017, the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorisation for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.[35]

    Finally, after all these problems it was approved in Europe, in August 2017, for highly active RRMS.[36]

    Efficacy

    Cladribine is an effective treatment for relapsing remitting MS, with a reduction in the annual rate of relapses of 54.5%.[12] These effects may be sustained up to 4 years after initial treatment, even if no further doses are given.[37] Thus, cladribine is considered to be a highly effective immune reconstitution therapy in MS. Similar to alemtuzumab, cladribine is given as two courses approximately one year apart. Each course consists of 4-5 tablets given over a week in the first month, followed by a second dosing of another 4-5 tablets the following month[38] During this time and after the final dose patients are monitored for adverse effects and signs of relapse.

    https://www.merckneurology.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/mavenclad-table-1.jpg

    Safety

    Compared to alemtuzumab, cladribine is associated with a lower rate of severe lymphopenia. It also appears to have a lower rate of common adverse events, especially mild to moderate infections[12][37] As cladribine is not a recombinant biological therapy, it is not associated with the development of antibodies against the drug, which might reduce the effectiveness of future doses. Also, unlike alemtuzumab, cladribine is not associated with secondary autoimmunity.[39]

    This is probably due to the fact cladribine more selectively targets B cells. Unlike alemtuzumab, cladribine is not associated with a rapid repopulation of the peripheral blood B cell pool, which then ´overshoots´ the original number by up to 30%.[40] Instead, B cells repopulate more slowly, reaching near normal total B cells numbers at 1 year. This phenomenon and the relative sparing of T cells, some of which might be important in regulating the system against other autoimmune reactions, is thought to explain the lack of secondary autoimmunity.

    Use in clinical practice

    The decision to start cladribine in MS depends on the degree of disease activity (as measured by number of relapses in the past year and T1 gadolinium-enhancing lesions on MRI), the failure of previous disease-modifying therapies, the potential risks and benefits and patient choice.

    In the UK, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends cladribine for treating highly active RRMS in adults if the persons has:

    rapidly evolving severe relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis, that is, at least 2 relapses in the previous year and at least 1 T1 gadolinium-enhancing lesion at baseline MRI or

    relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis that has responded inadequately to treatment with disease-modifying therapy, defined as 1 relapse in the previous year and MRI evidence of disease activity.[41]

    People with MS require counselling on the intended benefits of cladribine in reducing the risk of relapse and disease progression, versus the risk of adverse effects such as headaches, nausea and mild to moderate infections. Women of childbearing age also require counselling that they should not conceive while taking cladribine, due to the risk of harm to the fetus.

    Cladribine, as the 10 mg oral preparation Mavenclad, is administered as two courses of tablets approximately one year apart. Each course consists of four to five treatment days in the first month, followed by an additional four to five treatment days in the second month. The recommended dose of Mavenclad is 3.5 mg/kg over 2 years, given in two treatment courses of 1.75 mg/kg/year. Therefore, the number of tablets administered on each treatment day depends on the person's weight. A full guide to the dosing strategy can be found below:

    https://www.merckneurology.co.uk/mavenclad/mavenclad-efficacy/

    After treatment, people with MS are monitored with regular blood tests, looking specifically at the white cell count and liver function. Patients should be followed up regularly by their treating neurologist to assess efficacy, and should be able to contact their MS service in the case of adverse effects or relapse. After the first two years of active treatment no further therapy may need to be given, as cladribine has been shown to be efficacious for up to last least four years after treatment. However, if patients fail to respond, options include switching to other highly effective disease-modifying therapies such as alemtuzumab, fingolimod or natalizumab.

    Research directions

    Cladribine has been studied as part of a multi-drug chemotherapy regimen for drug-resistant T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia.[42]

    gollark: Why hand-draw stuff when you can probably just ??? neural networks now?
    gollark: ↓ you
    gollark: So it won't be able to use the "opera" "VPN".
    gollark: Torrenting is done with an external torrent client, which is not in fact in your browser probably.
    gollark: I don't think you understand how this works.

    References
    1. "Cladribine". Drugs.com. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
    2. Liliemark, Jan (1997). "The Clinical Pharmacokinetics of Cladribine". Clinical Pharmacokinetics. 32 (2): 120–131. doi:10.2165/00003088-199732020-00003. PMID 9068927.
    3. "PRODUCT INFORMATION LITAK© 2 mg/mL solution for injection" (PDF). TGA eBusiness Services. St Leonards, Australia: Orphan Australia Pty. Ltd. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
    4. "European Medicines Agency - - Litak". www.ema.europa.eu.
    5. "Leustat Injection. - Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) - (eMC)". www.medicines.org.uk.
    6. Leist, TP; Weissert, R (2010). "Cladribine: mode of action and implications for treatment of multiple sclerosis". Clinical Neuropharmacology. 34 (1): 28–35. doi:10.1097/wnf.0b013e318204cd90. PMID 21242742.
    7. "Cladribine- cladribine injection". DailyMed. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
    8. "FDA approves new oral treatment for multiple sclerosis". U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 29 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
    9. "Mavenclad- cladribine tablet". DailyMed. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
    10. Histiocytosis Association Erdheim-Chester Disease Archived 2019-06-06 at the Wayback Machine Page accessed Aug 20, 2016
    11. Aricò M (2016). "Langerhans cell histiocytosis in children: from the bench to bedside for an updated therapy". Br J Haematol. 173 (5): 663–70. doi:10.1111/bjh.13955. PMID 26913480. The combination of cytarabine and cladribine is the current standard for second-line therapy of refractory cases with vital organ dysfunction.
    12. Giovannoni, G; Comi, G; Cook, S; Rammohan, K; Rieckmann, P; Soelberg Sørensen, P; Vermersch, P; Chang, P; Hamlett, A; Musch, B; Greenberg, SJ; CLARITY Study, Group. (4 February 2010). "A placebo-controlled trial of oral cladribine for relapsing multiple sclerosis". The New England Journal of Medicine. 362 (5): 416–26. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0902533. PMID 20089960.
    13. Johnston, JB (June 2011). "Mechanism of action of pentostatin and cladribine in hairy cell leukemia". Leukemia & Lymphoma. 52 Suppl 2: 43–5. doi:10.3109/10428194.2011.570394. PMID 21463108.
    14. Beutler, E; Piro, LD; Saven, A; Kay, AC; McMillan, R; Longmire, R; Carrera, CJ; Morin, P; Carson, DA (1991). "2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA): A Potent Chemotherapeutic and Immunosuppressive Nucleoside". Leukemia & Lymphoma. 5 (1): 1–8. doi:10.3109/10428199109068099. PMID 27463204.
    15. Baker, D; Marta, M; Pryce, G; Giovannoni, G; Schmierer, K (February 2017). "Memory B Cells are Major Targets for Effective Immunotherapy in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis". EBioMedicine. 16: 41–50. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2017.01.042. PMC 5474520. PMID 28161400.
    16. Baker, D; Herrod, SS; Alvarez-Gonzalez, C; Zalewski, L; Albor, C; Schmierer, K (July 2017). "Both cladribine and alemtuzumab may effect MS via B-cell depletion". Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation. 4 (4): e360. doi:10.1212/NXI.0000000000000360. PMC 5459792. PMID 28626781.
    17. Ceronie, B; Jacobs, BM; Baker, D; Dubuisson, N; Mao, Z; Ammoscato, F; Lock, H; Longhurst, HJ; Giovannoni, G; Schmierer, K (May 2018). "Cladribine treatment of multiple sclerosis is associated with depletion of memory B cells". Journal of Neurology. 265 (5): 1199–1209. doi:10.1007/s00415-018-8830-y. PMC 5937883. PMID 29550884.
    18. Marshall A. Lichtman Biographical Memoir: Ernest Beutler 1928–2008 National Academy of Sciences, 2012
    19. Staff, The Pink Sheet Mar 8, 1993 Ortho Biotech’s Leustatin For Hairy Cell Leukemia Archived 2017-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
    20. EMA 2004 Litak EMA package: Scientific Discussion
    21. EMA 2004 Litak: Background Information one the Procedure
    22. Eric Sauter and Mika Ono for Scripps News and Views. Vol 9. Issue 18. June 1, 2009 A Potential New MS Treatment's Long and Winding Road
    23. Tortorella C, Rovaris M, Filippi M (2001). "Cladribine. Ortho Biotech Inc". Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2 (12): 1751–6. PMID 11892941.
    24. Carey Sargent for Dow Jones Newswires in the Wall Street Journal. Oct. 31, 2002 Serono Purchases Rights To Experimental MS Drug
    25. Reuters. Dec 4, 2000. Ivax to Develop Cladribine for Multiple Sclerosis
    26. Jennifer Bayot for the New York Times. July 26, 2005 Teva to Acquire Ivax, Another Maker of Generic Drugs
    27. Teva Press Release, 2006. Teva Completes Acquisition of Ivax
    28. Staff, First Word Pharma. Sept 21, 2006 Merck KGaA to acquire Serono
    29. EMA. 2011 Withdrawal Assessment Report for Movectro Procedure No. EMEA/H/C/001197
    30. John Gever for MedPage Today June 22, 2011 06.22.2011 0 Merck KGaA Throws in Towel on Cladribine for MS
    31. John Carroll for FierceBiotech Sep 11, 2015 Four years after a transatlantic slapdown, Merck KGaA will once again seek cladribine OK
    32. Connolly, Allison (24 April 2012). "Merck KGaA to Close Merck Serono Site in Geneva, Cut Jobs". Bloomberg.
    33. Pakpoor, J; et al. (December 2015). "No evidence for higher risk of cancer in patients with multiple sclerosis taking cladribine". Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation. 2 (6): e158. doi:10.1212/nxi.0000000000000158. PMC 4592538. PMID 26468472.
    34. Press release
    35. Merck. "Cladribine Tablets Receives Positive CHMP Opinion for Treatment of Relapsing Forms of Multiple Sclerosis". www.prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
    36. Cladribine approved in Europe, Press Release
    37. Giovannoni, G; Soelberg Sorensen, P; Cook, S; Rammohan, K; Rieckmann, P; Comi, G; Dangond, F; Adeniji, AK; Vermersch, P (1 August 2017). "Safety and efficacy of cladribine tablets in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: Results from the randomized extension trial of the CLARITY study" (PDF). Multiple Sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England). 24 (12): 1594–1604. doi:10.1177/1352458517727603. PMID 28870107. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2020.
    38. "Sustained Efficacy - Merck Neurology". Merck Neurology. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
    39. Guarnera, C; Bramanti, P; Mazzon, E (2017). "Alemtuzumab: a review of efficacy and risks in the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis". Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management. 13: 871–879. doi:10.2147/TCRM.S134398. PMC 5522829. PMID 28761351.
    40. Baker, D; Herrod, SS; Alvarez-Gonzalez, C; Giovannoni, G; Schmierer, K (1 August 2017). "Interpreting Lymphocyte Reconstitution Data From the Pivotal Phase 3 Trials of Alemtuzumab". JAMA Neurology. 74 (8): 961–969. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.0676. PMC 5710323. PMID 28604916.
    41. "Cladribine tablets for treating relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis". National Institute for Clinical Excellence. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
    42. Hasanali, Zainul S.; Saroya, Bikramajit Singh; Stuart, August; Shimko, Sara; Evans, Juanita; Shah, Mithun Vinod; Sharma, Kamal; Leshchenko, Violetta V.; Parekh, Samir (24 June 2015). "Epigenetic therapy overcomes treatment resistance in T cell prolymphocytic leukemia". Science Translational Medicine. 7 (293): 293ra102. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa5079. ISSN 1946-6234. PMC 4807901. PMID 26109102.
    • "Cladribine". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.