Netupitant is an

antiemetic An antiemetic is a drug that is effective against vomiting and nausea. Antiemetics are typically used to treat motion sickness and the side effects of opioid analgesics, general anaesthetics, and chemotherapy directed against cancer. They may ...

medication. In the United States, the

combinations In mathematics, a combination is a selection of items from a set that has distinct members, such that the order of selection does not matter (unlike permutations). For example, given three fruits, say an apple, an orange and a pear, there are t ...

of netupitant/palonosetron and the prodrug fosnetupitant/

palonosetron Palonosetron, sold under the brand name Aloxi, is a medication used for the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). It is a 5-HT3 antagonist. Palonosetron is administered intravenously, or as a single oral ...

(both brand name Akynzeo) are approved by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

for the prevention of acute and delayed

chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a common side-effect of many cancer treatments. Nausea and vomiting are two of the most feared cancer treatment-related side effects for cancer patients and their families. In 1983, Coates et al. f ...

, including highly

emetogenic Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pregna ...

chemotherapy such as with

cisplatin Cisplatin is a chemical compound with chemical formula, formula ''cis''-. It is a coordination complex of platinum that is used as a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of cancers. These include testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, c ...

. In the European Union, the combinations are approved by the

European Medicines Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products ...

(EMA) for the same indication.

Adverse effects

Side effects of the combination netupitant/palonosetron are similar to palonosetron alone, so that no common side effects can be attributed to netupitant.

Interactions

Netupitant blood plasma levels are expected to increase when combined with inhibitors of the liver enzyme

CYP3A4 Cytochrome P450 3A4 (abbreviated CYP3A4) () is an important enzyme in the body, mainly found in the liver and in the intestine, which in humans is encoded by ''CYP3A4'' gene. It organic redox reaction, oxidizes small foreign organic molecules ( ...

and lowered when combined with inductors of this enzyme. Being a CYP3A4 inhibitor itself, netupitant could also increase plasma levels of pharmaceuticals that are metabolized by CYP3A4. This effect has been observed with

dexamethasone Dexamethasone is a fluorinated glucocorticoid medication used to treat rheumatic problems, a number of skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), croup, brain swelling, eye pain following eye su ...

, the anti-cancer drugs

docetaxel Docetaxel (DTX or DXL), sold under the brand name Taxotere among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes breast cancer, head and neck cancer, stomach cancer, prostate cancer and non-small-cel ...

and

etoposide Etoposide, sold under the brand name Vepesid among others, is a chemotherapy medication used for the treatments of a number of types of cancer including testicular cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, neuroblastoma, and ovarian cancer. It is ...

, and to a minor (not clinically significant) extent with

levonorgestrel Levonorgestrel is a hormonal medication used in a number of birth control methods. It is combined with an estrogen to make combination birth control pills. As an emergency birth control, sold under the brand names Plan B One-Step and Julie, ...

erythromycin Erythromycin is an antibiotic used for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections. This includes respiratory tract infections, skin infections, chlamydia infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, and syphilis. It may also be used ...

and

midazolam Midazolam, sold under the brand name Versed among others, is a benzodiazepine medication used for anesthesia, premedication before surgical anesthesia, and procedural sedation, and to treat psychomotor agitation, severe agitation. It induces ...

. The clinical relevance of the anti-cancer drug interactions has been questioned.

Pharmacology

Mechanism of action

Netupitant is a selective NK₁ receptor antagonist. Netupitant is a selective neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor antagonist with potential antiemetic activity. Netupitant competitively binds to and blocks the activity of the human substance P/NK1 receptors in the central nervous system (CNS), thereby inhibiting NK1-receptor binding of the endogenous tachykinin neuropeptide substance P (SP), which may result in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). SP is found in neurons of vagal afferent fibers innervating the brain-stem nucleus tractus solitarii and the area postrema, which contains the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ), and may be elevated in response to chemotherapy. The NK-receptor is a G-protein receptor coupled to the inositol phosphate signal-transduction pathway and is found in both the nucleus tractus solitarii and the area postrema.

Pharmacokinetics

Bioavailability In pharmacology, bioavailability is a subcategory of absorption and is the fraction (%) of an administered drug that reaches the systemic circulation. By definition, when a medication is administered intravenously, its bioavailability is 100%. H ...

is estimated to be over 60% for orally taken netupitant. Highest blood plasma concentrations are reached five hours after application. Availability is moderately (10–20%) increased when taken after a fatty meal. Netupitant and its main metabolites (called M1 and M3) are bound to

plasma proteins Plasma proteins, sometimes referred to as blood proteins, are proteins present in blood plasma. They perform many different functions, including transport of hormones, vitamins and minerals in activity and functioning of the immune system. Other b ...

to more than 99%, and M2 protein binding is 97%. The substance is mainly metabolized by CYP3A4, and to a lesser extent by

CYP2D6 Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''CYP2D6'' gene. ''CYP2D6'' is primarily expressed in the liver. It is also highly expressed in areas of the central nervous system, including the substantia nigra. CYP2 ...

and

CYP2C9 Cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily C member 9 (abbreviated CYP2C9) is an enzyme protein. The enzyme is involved in the metabolism, by oxidation, of both xenobiotics, including drugs, and endogenous compounds, including fatty acids. In humans, t ...

. The main metabolites are desmethyl-netupitant (M1), netupitant ''N''-oxide (M2), and hydroxy-netupitant (M3); all three are pharmacologically active. Netupitant and its metabolites are mainly excreted via the

faeces Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...

Biological half-life Biological half-life (elimination half-life, pharmacological half-life) is the time taken for concentration of a drug, biological substance (such as a medication) to decrease from its maximum concentration (chemistry), concentration (Cmax (pharm ...

is 88 hours, significantly longer than that of the first NK₁ receptor antagonist,

aprepitant Aprepitant, sold under the brand name Emend among others, is a medication used to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting. It may be used together with ondansetron and dexamethasone. ...

, which has a half-life of 9 to 13 hours. Netupitant metabolites

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar , Medicine Antiemetics NK1 receptor antagonists Trifluoromethyl compounds 4-Methylpiperazin-1-yl compounds 2-Tolyl compounds