Novel antidiabetic arylsulfonamidothiazoles are presented that exert action through selective inhibition of the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta-HSD1) enzyme, thereby attenuating hepatic gluconeogenesis. The diethylamide derivative 2a was shown to potently inhibit human 11beta-HSD1 (IC(50) = 52 nM), whereas the N-methylpiperazinamide analogue 2b only inhibited murine 11beta-HSD1 (IC(50) = 96 nM). Both compounds showed >200-fold selectivity over human and murine 11beta-HSD2. 2b was subsequently shown to reduce glucose levels in diabetic KKA(y) mice, substantiating the 11beta-HSD1 enzyme as a target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

LC-MS/MS is the gold standard for measurements of dabigatran in plasma. Alternatively, either HTI or ECA assays may be used, but neither of these assays is dependable when monitoring low levels or to infer total absence of dabigatran. The aPTT assay is relatively insensitive to dabigatran, and normal aPTT results may be observed even with therapeutic dabigatran concentrations.

CYP3A4, considered the most important enzyme in drug metabolism, is often involved in drug-drug interactions. When developing new drugs, appropriate markers for detecting CYP3A4 induction are needed. Our study compared endogenously formed 4β-hydroxycholesterol with the midazolam clearance in plasma and the 6β-hydroxycortisol/cortisol ratio in urine as markers for CYP3A4 induction. To this end, we performed a clinical trial in which 24 healthy subjects were randomized to 10, 20, or 100 mg daily doses of rifampicin for 14 days (n = 8 in each group) to achieve a low and moderate CYP3A4 induction. The CYP3A4 induction could be detected even at the lowest dose of rifampicin (10 mg) via the estimated midazolam clearance, the 4β-hydroxycholesterol ratio (both P < 0.01), and the 6β-hydroxycortisol ratio (P < 0.05). For the three dosing groups (10, 20, and 100 mg), the median fold induction from baseline was 2.0, 2.6, and 4.0 for the estimated midazolam clearance; 1.3, 1.6, and 2.5 for the 4β-hydroxycholesterol/cholesterol ratio; and 1.7, 2.9, and 3.1 for the 6β-hydroxycortisol/cortisol ratio. In conclusion, the 4β-hydroxycholesterol ratio is comparable to midazolam clearance as a marker of CYP3A4 induction, and each may be used to evaluate CYP3A4 induction in clinical trials evaluating drug-drug interactions for new drugs.