Glycerol Phenylbutyrate Corrector Therapy For CF (Cystic Fibrosis)

We were the first to test 4-phenylbutyrate (Buphenyl) as a systemic corrector of these defects in F508del under an investigator-initiated Investigational New Drug (IND)application held by P. Zeitlin. In a series of Phase 1 and 2 trials we established the maximum tolerated dose as 20 gm daily divided t.i.d. and the maximum induction of cyclic AMP (cAMP)-mediated nasal epithelial chloride transport with 30 gm daily as a median of -10 millivolt (mV) on days 4 and 7 of treatment.1;2 Under those conditions there was no significant decrease in sweat chloride values or in amiloride-inhibited nasal potential difference (NPD). We interpreted these results as a proof of concept of corrector therapy, but corrector therapy alone was likely an insufficient therapy for this mutation in CF, and therefore closed the IND for 4-phenylbutyrate.

In the ensuing years, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has had success with the development of ivacaftor3;3;4 (VX-770) as a potentiator of G551D CFTR and has studied the drug alone and in combination with their corrector lumacaftor5 (VX-809) and VX-661. We at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Childrens' Hospital of Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania (CHOP/Penn) have participated in many of the clinical trials and are pleased and encouraged by the success of VX-770. It is not yet certain that future combinations of corrector(s) and potentiator(s) will be safe and effective, and it is prudent to explore alternative correctors and potentiators. Furthermore, recent structural investigations in a number of laboratories support the idea that more than one corrector may be necessary to fully restore F508del to the trafficking pathway 6. Precedent for combination of 4PBA with other CFTR modulators has been established in vitro 7;8 4-Phenylbutyrate tablets are formulated for oral delivery, and we showed that the pharmacokinetics were similar in CF to that in patients with urea cycle disorders. However the large number of tablets that had to be ingested at each meal were somewhat daunting at the 30 gm daily dose. A new pro-drug of 4-phenylbutyrate, glycerol phenylbutyrate or Ravicti®(owned by Hyperion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) was approved in February 2013 by the US FDA. This new formulation is a significant advance for patients with urea cycle disorders because it is an oral, odorless, tasteless liquid, that contains 3 molecules of 4-phenylbutyrate for every molecule of the triglyceride. Simple arithmetic would suggest that one mole equivalent of the pro-drug provides three moles of active drug. However, pancreatic lipase enzymes are required to break the covalent bonds and release the active drug in the intestines. Because most CF patients homozygous for F508del are pancreatic-insufficient and already on enzyme therapy, we propose to test the effectiveness of the combination of CF pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) on absorption of Ravicti® and subsequent restoration of nasal epithelial CFTR-mediated chloride transport during the nasal potential difference (NPD) test.