Semorinemab Pharmacokinetics and The Effect on Plasma Total Tau Pharmacodynamics in Clinical Studies

Background

Semorinemab is a monoclonal antibody that targets the N-terminal domain of the tau protein that is in clinical development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Objectives

To perform model-based evaluations of the observed pharmacokinetics in serum and the total plasma tau target-engagement dynamics from clinical studies evaluating semorinemab.

Design

The observed semorinemab pharmacokinetics and plasma tau target engagement from phase 1 and 2 clinical studies were modeled using a non-linear mixed effect targetmediated drug disposition model. The model was simulated to understand target engagement at clinical dose levels.

Settings and Participants

The clinical studies testing semorinemab were evaluated in healthy volunteers, subjects with prodromal-to-mild Alzheimer’s disease, and subjects with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The data included a total of 8430 semorinemab serum concentrations and 4772 total tau protein plasma concentrations from 463 subjects treated with a range of single and multiple doses of semorinemab.

Measurements

Serum concentrations of semorinemab and the total plasma tau concentrations were measured after administration of a range of doses of semorinemab to subjects with Alzheimer’s disease. A sensitivity analysis was performed wherein key target-mediated drug disposition model parameters were estimated separately between healthy volunteers, subjects with prodromal-to-mild Alzheimer’s disease, and subjects with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

Results

Serum concentrations of semorinemab were consistent across studies and showed a dose-proportional increase across the evaluated dose range. The pharmacokinetic profile was comparable between healthy volunteers and subjects with Alzheimer’s disease. Total plasma tau concentrations increased in a dose-dependent non-linear manner upon semorinemab administration. The target-mediated drug disposition model adequately described the serum pharmacokinetics and protein dynamics with an estimated antibody-ligand binding strength, K_ss, of 42.7 nM. The estimated values of clearance and central volume of distribution were 0.109 L/day/70 kg and 2.95 L/70 kg, respectively, and were consistent with typical values for IgG mAbs. In the sensitivity analysis, K_ss (32 nM) and baseline tau protein (0.30 µM) were estimated to be lower for healthy volunteers compared to subjects with Alzheimer’s disease but were comparable between subjects with Alzheimer’s disease of different severities (K_ss: 52–57 nM, baseline tau: 0.44–0.47 µM). The models suggested that peripheral target engagement was over 90% at the clinical doses in each of the diagnostic subgroups.

Conclusion

Our target-mediated drug disposition model adequately described the serum pharmacokinetics and the peripheral non-linear increase with dose of the total tau. The model confirmed that these dose-response relationships were consistent across populations of healthy volunteers and subjects with different severities of Alzheimer’s disease.