Pharmacokinetics of sapropterin in patients with phenylketonuria

Background and objective: Untreated phenylketonuria is characterized by neurocognitive and neuromotor impairment, which result from elevated blood phenylalanine concentrations. To date, the recommended management of phenylketonuria has been the use of a protein-restricted diet and the inclusion of phenylalanine-free protein supplements; however, this approach is often associated with poor compliance and a suboptimal clinical outcome. Sapropterin dihydrochloride, herein referred to as sapropterin, a synthetic formulation of 6R-tetrahydrobiopterin (6R-BH4), has been shown to be effective in reducing blood phenylalanine concentrations in patients with phenylketonuria. The objective of the current study was to characterize the pharmacokinetics and pharmacokinetic variability of sapropterin and to identify the characteristics that influence this variability. Patients and methods: This was a 12-week, fixed-dose phase of an open-label extension study. The study was conducted at 26 centres in North America and Europe. Patients with phenylketonuria were eligible to participate if they were ≥8 years of age and had received ≥80% of the scheduled doses in a previous 6-week, randomized, placebo-controlled study or had been withdrawn from that study after exceeding a plasma phenylalanine concentration of ≥1500 μmol/L to ≥1800 μmol/L, depending on the subject's age and baseline plasma phenylalanine concentration. A total of 78 patients participated. Patients received oral once-daily doses of sapropterin (Kuvan®) 5, 10 or 20 mg/kg/day. Blood samples for the pharmacokinetic analysis were obtained during weeks 6, 10 and 12. A D-optimal sparse sampling strategy was used, and data were analysed by population-based, nonlinear, mixed-effects modelling methods. Main outcome measure: In a prospectively planned analysis, the apparent clearance, apparent volume of distribution, absorption rate constant and associated interindividual variabilities of each parameter were estimated by modelling observed BH4 plasma concentration-time data. Results: The best structural model to describe the pharmacokinetics of sapropterin was a two-compartment model with first-order input, first-order elimination and a baseline endogenous BH4 concentration term. Total bodyweight was the only significant covariate identified, the inclusion of which on both the apparent clearance (mean = 2100 L/h/70 kg) and central volume of distribution (mean = 8350 L/70 kg) substantially improved the model's ability to describe the data. The mean (SD) terminal half-life of sapropterin was 6.69 (2.29) hours and there was little evidence of accumulation, even at the highest dose. Conclusion: These findings, taken together with the observed therapeutic effect, support bodyweight-based, once-daily dosing of sapropterin 5-20 mg/kg/day.