A Drug-Drug Interaction Study Evaluating the Effect of Givosiran, a Small Interfering Ribonucleic Acid, on Cytochrome P450 Activity in the Liver

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Publication Details

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Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics

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September 2021

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Author(s)

Daphne Vassiliou1 2 3, Eliane Sardh1 2 3, Pauline Harper1 4, Amy R Simon5, Valerie A Clausen5, Nader Najafian5, Gabriel J Robbie5, Sagar Agarwal5

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Affiliations

Affiliations

1Centre for Inherited Metabolic Diseases (CMMS), Porphyria Centre Sweden, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; 2Department of Endocrinology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; 3Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; 4Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; 5Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

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abstract

Abstract

Givosiran (trade name GIVLAARI) is a small interfering ribonucleic acid that targets hepatic delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase 1 (ALAS1) messenger RNA for degradation through RNA interference (RNAi) that has been approved for the treatment of acute hepatic porphyria (AHP). RNAi therapeutics, such as givosiran, have a low liability for drug-drug interactions (DDIs) because they are not metabolized by cytochrome 450 (CYP) enzymes, and do not directly inhibit or induce CYP enzymes in the liver. The pharmacodynamic effect of givosiran (lowering of hepatic ALAS1, the first and rate limiting enzyme in the heme biosynthesis pathway) presents a unique scenario where givosiran could potentially impact heme-dependent activities in the liver, such as CYP enzyme activity. This study assessed the impact of givosiran on the pharmacokinetics of substrates of 5 major CYP450 enzymes in subjects with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), the most common type of AHP, by using the validated “Inje cocktail,” comprised of caffeine (CYP1A2), losartan (CYP2C9), omeprazole (CYP2C19), dextromethorphan (CYP2D6), and midazolam (CYP3A4). We show that givosiran treatment had a differential inhibitory effect on CYP450 enzymes in the liver, resulting in a moderate reduction in activity of CYP1A2 and CYP2D6, a minor effect on CYP3A4 and CYP2C19, and a similar weak effect on CYP2C9. To date, this is the first study evaluating the DDI for an oligonucleotide therapeutic and highlights an atypical drug interaction due to the pharmacological effect of givosiran. The results of this study suggest that givosiran does not have a large effect on heme-dependent CYP enzyme activity in the liver.

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PMID

34510420

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DOI

10.1002/cpt.2419

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