Clinical data | |
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Trade names | Linzess |
AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
MedlinePlus | a613007 |
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Routes of administration | By mouth |
ATC code | |
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CAS Number | |
PubChem CID | |
IUPHAR/BPS | |
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CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.243.239 |
Chemical and physical data | |
Formula | C59H79N15O21S6 |
Molar mass | 1526.73 g·mol−1 |
3D model (JSmol) | |
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Linaclotide, (sold under the brand name Linzess in the US and Mexico, and as Constella elsewhere) [6] is a drug used to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic constipation with no known cause. [4] [2] It has a black box warning about the risk of serious dehydration in children in the US; the most common adverse effects in others include diarrhea. [4]
It is an oligopeptide agonist of guanylate cyclase 2C and remains in the GI tract after it is taken by mouth. It was approved in the US and the European Union in 2012. [7]
It is marketed by Abbvie (formerly Allergan) in the United states and by Astellas in Asia;[ citation needed ] Ironwood Pharmaceuticals was the originator. [8] [ failed verification ] In 2022, it was the 189th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 2 million prescriptions. [9] [10]
Linaclotide is indicated to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic constipation with no known cause. [4] [2]
In June 2023, the indication was expanded in the US to include the treatment of functional constipation. [4] [11]
The US label has a black box warning to not use linaclotide in children less than six years old and to avoid in people from 6 to 18 years old, due to the risk of serious dehydration. [4]
More than 10% of people taking linaclotide have diarrhea. Between 1% and 10% of people have decreased appetite, dehydration, low potassium, dizziness when standing up too quickly, nausea, vomiting, urgent need to defecate, fecal incontinence, and bleeding in the colon, rectum, and anus. [2]
It has not been tested in pregnant women and it is unknown if it is excreted in breast milk. [2]
Systemic absorption of the globular tetradecapeptide is minimal. [12] [13]
Linaclotide, like the endogenous guanylin and uroguanylin it mimics, is an agonist that activates the cell surface receptor of guanylate cyclase 2C (GC-C). [12] [4] [14] The medication binds to the surface of the intestinal epithelial cells. [4] Linaclotide is minimally absorbed and it is undetectable in the systemic circulation at therapeutic doses. [12] Activation of GC-C increases cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). [4] Elevated cGMP stimulates secretion of chloride and bicarbonate and water into the intestinal lumen, mainly by way of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) ion channel activation. [4] [15] This results in increased intestinal fluid and accelerated transit. [4]
Linaclotide is a hybrid peptide design of the E.coli heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) and the endogenous peptide hormones endogenous guanylin and uroguanylin. [16] [12] [14] It is a synthetic tetradecapeptide (14 amino acid peptide) with the sequence CCEYCCNPACTGCY by one-letter abbreviation,[ citation needed ] or by three-letter abbreviation: [17]
H–Cys 1–Cys2–Glu 3–Tyr 4–Cys5–Cys6–Asn 7–Pro 8–Ala 9–Cys10–Thr 11–Gly 12–Cys13–Tyr14–OH
However, the actual structure of linaclotide is not fully specified without the three disulfide (R-S-S-R) bonds it contains, which are between Cys1 and Cys6, between Cys2 and Cys10, and between Cys5 and Cys13; [17] these are shown in exaggerated fashion in the line-angle graphic showing the chemical bonds within and between each amino acid (and their stereochemistries, see the infobox, above right), and are represented using a one-letter abbreviations in the following additional schematic:[ citation needed ]
A study in discovery synthesis reported that 2 of 14 strategies available to synthesize linaclotide were successful—the successful ones involving trityl protection of all cysteines, or trityl protection of all cysteines except Cys1 and Cys6, which were protected with tert-butylsulphenyl groups. The study also reported that solution-phase oxidation (disulfide formation) was advisable over solid-supported synthesis for linaclotide, and that the Cys1–Cys6 disulfide bridge was the most favored energetically. [17]
The drug was discovered at Microbia, Inc, which had been spun out of the Whitehead Institute in 1998 by postdocs from the lab of Gerald Fink to commercialize the lab's know-how and inventions related to microbial pathogens and biology. [18] [19] In 2002 the company hired Mark Currie who had worked at the Searle division of Monsanto and then had gone to Sepracor. [18] Currie directed the efforts that led to the discovery of linaclotide, which was based on an enterotoxin produced by some strains of Escherichia coli that cause traveler's diarrhea. [20] [21] The company started Phase I trials in 2004. [18]
Under a partnership agreement announced in 2007, between Forest Laboratories and Microbia, Forest would pay $70 million in licensing fees towards the development of linaclotide, with profits shared between the two companies in the US; Forest obtained exclusive rights to market in Canada and Mexico. [22] By 2010, Microbia had changed its name to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and had licensed rights to distribute the drug in Europe to Almirall and had licensed Asian rights to Astellas Pharma. [23]
It was approved in the United States and in the European Union in 2012. [7]
Forest was acquired in 2014 and eventually became part of Allergan. [24] Allergan acquired rights from Almirall in 2015, [25] and in 2017, acquired remaining rights in most of the rest of the world, excluding North America, Japan, and China. [26] Allergan has since been acquired by AbbVie in 2020. [27]
In 2014, Ironwood and Forest then Allergan began running direct-to-consumer advertising which raised sales by 21%; campaigns in 2015 and 2016 raised sales by 27% and 30%. [28]
In 2017, the list price for linaclotide in the US was US$378 for 30 pills; Allergan and Ironwood increased the price of linaclotide to around $414 in 2018. [8]
Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement. Complications from constipation may include hemorrhoids, anal fissure or fecal impaction. The normal frequency of bowel movements in adults is between three per day and three per week. Babies often have three to four bowel movements per day while young children typically have two to three per day.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may occur over a long time, sometimes for years. IBS can negatively affect quality of life and may result in missed school or work or reduced productivity at work. Disorders such as anxiety, major depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome are common among people with IBS.
Functional constipation, also known as chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), is defined by less than three bowel movements per week, hard stools, severe straining, the sensation of anorectal blockage, the feeling of incomplete evacuation, and the need for manual maneuvers during feces, without organic abnormalities. Many illnesses, including endocrine, metabolic, neurological, mental, and gastrointestinal obstructions, can cause constipation as a secondary symptom. When there is no such cause, functional constipation is diagnosed.
Alosetron, sold under the brand name Lotronex among others, is a 5-HT3 antagonist used for the management of severe diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in females only.
Tegaserod is a 5-HT4 agonist manufactured by Novartis and sold under the names Zelnorm and Zelmac for the management of irritable bowel syndrome and constipation. Approved by the FDA in 2002, it was subsequently removed from the market in 2007 due to FDA concerns about possible adverse cardiovascular effects. Before then, it was the only drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to help relieve the abdominal discomfort, bloating, and constipation associated with irritable bowel syndrome. Its use was also approved to treat chronic idiopathic constipation.
Renzapride is a prokinetic agent and antiemetic which acts as a full 5-HT4 agonist and partial 5-HT3 antagonist. It also functions as a 5-HT2B antagonist and has some affinity for the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors.
Forest Laboratories was a company in the pharmaceutical industry incorporated in Delaware, with its principal office in New York City. It was known for licensing European pharmaceuticals for sale in the United States. On July 1, 2014, the company was acquired by Actavis.
Rifaximin, is a non-absorbable, broad spectrum antibiotic mainly used to treat travelers' diarrhea. It is based on the rifamycin antibiotics family. Since its approval in Italy in 1987, it has been licensed in over more than 30 countries for the treatment of a variety of gastrointestinal diseases like irritable bowel syndrome, and hepatic encephalopathy. It acts by inhibiting RNA synthesis in susceptible bacteria by binding to the RNA polymerase enzyme. This binding blocks translocation, which stops transcription. It is marketed under the brand name Xifaxan by Salix Pharmaceuticals.
Cilansetron is an experimental drug that is a 5-HT3 antagonist under development by Solvay Pharmaceuticals.
The Rome process and Rome criteria are an international effort to create scientific data to help in the diagnosis and treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia and rumination syndrome. The Rome diagnostic criteria are set forth by Rome Foundation, a not for profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.
Almirall, S.A. is a Spanish pharmaceutical company dedicated to medical dermatology, with headquarters in Barcelona, founded in 1944.
Mebeverine is a drug used to alleviate some of the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. It works by relaxing the muscles in and around the gut.
Lubiprostone, sold under the brand name Amitiza among others, is a medication used in the management of chronic idiopathic constipation, predominantly irritable bowel syndrome-associated constipation in women and opioid-induced constipation. The drug is owned by Mallinckrodt and is marketed by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
Rose Pharma is a private company that was founded in 2003 as Gastrotech Pharma and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company is led by CEO Leif Helth Jensen, who is, together with Michael Forer and Florian Schönharting, also member of the Board of Directors. Rose Pharma is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel treatments for IBS and anorexia/cachexia associated with cancer and other major pathologies.
Naldemedine, sold under the brand name Symproic in the US and Rizmoic in the European Union, is a medication that is used for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in adults who have previously been treated with a laxative in the European Union, or to treat opioid induced constipation in adults with chronic non-cancer pain in the US. It is a peripherally acting μ-opioid receptor antagonist and was developed by Shionogi. Clinical studies have found it to possess statistically significant effectiveness for these indications and to be generally well tolerated, with predominantly mild to moderate gastrointestinal side effects. Effects indicative of central opioid withdrawal or impact on the analgesic or miotic effects of co-administered opioids have only been observed in a small number of patients.
Elobixibat is an inhibitor of the ileal bile acid transporter (IBAT), undergoing development in clinical trials for the treatment of chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C).
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a publicly traded pharmaceutical company. It was originally called Microbia, Inc.
Serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin/protein isolate (SBI) is a medical food product derived from bovine serum obtained from adult cows in the United States. It is sold under the name EnteraGam.
Eluxadoline, sold under the brand names Viberzi and Truberzi, is a medication taken by mouth for the treatment of diarrhea and abdominal pain in individuals with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D). It was approved for use in the United States in 2015. The drug originated from Janssen Pharmaceutica and was developed by Actavis.
Plecanatide, sold under the brand name Trulance, is a medication for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. It is available in India under the brand name "Plectide". Plecanatide is an agonist of guanylate cyclase-C. Plecanatide increases intestinal transit and fluid through a buildup of cGMP.