Population pharmacokinetics, enzyme occupancy, and 24S-hydroxycholesterol modeling of soticlestat, a novel cholesterol 24-hydroxylase inhibitor, in healthy adults.

Soticlestat is a first-in-class, selective inhibitor of cholesterol 24-hydroxylase (CH24H), which catabolizes cholesterol to 24S-hydroxycholesterol (24HC) in the brain, in phase III development for Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome treatment. This study aimed to develop a model of soticlestat pharmacokinetics (PKs) and pharmacodynamics (PDs) using 24HC plasma concentrations and CH24H enzyme occupancy (EO) time profiles. Subsequently, model-based simulations were conducted to identify dosing strategies for phase II trials in children and adults with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs). Four phase I trials of healthy adults involving oral administration of soticlestat 15-1350 mg were used to develop the mixed-effect population PK/EO/PD model. The population PK analysis utilized 1727 observations (104 individuals), PK/EO analysis utilized 20 observations (11 individuals), and PK/PD analysis utilized 2270 observations (99 individuals). Optimal dosing strategies were identified from model-based PK, EO, and PD simulations. The PK/EO/PD model described the observed data well and comprised a two-compartment model with dose as a covariate on peripheral volume, linear elimination, and intercompartmental clearance. Transit and effect-site compartments were included to accommodate different dosage forms and the delay between plasma drug concentrations and EO. Model-based simulations indicated that soticlestat 100-300 mg twice daily may be an optimal adult dosing regimen with weight-adjusted pediatric dosing strategies identified for evaluation in phase II trials. The population PK/EO/PD model provided understanding of the soticlestat PK/PD relationship with partial delineation of sources of variability, and identified dosing strategies for phase II trials of children and adults with DEEs.