ABSTRACT:The pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of (R)-N- [4-[2-[[2-hydroxy-2-(pyridin-3-yl) [4-(trifluoromethylphenyl]thiazol-2-yl]benzenesulfonamide (1), a 3-pyridyl thiazole benzenesulfonamide  3 -adrenergic receptor agonist, were investigated in rats, dogs, and monkeys. Systemic clearance was higher in rats (ϳ30 ml/min/kg) than in dogs and monkeys (both ϳ10 ml/min/kg), and oral bioavailability was 17, 27, and 4%, respectively. Since systemic clearance was 25 to 40% of hepatic blood flow in these species, hepatic extraction was expected to be low, and it was likely that oral bioavailability was limited either by absorption or a large first-pass effect in the gut. The absorption and excretion of 3 H-labeled 1 were investigated in rats, and only 28% of the administered radioactivity was orally absorbed. Subsequently, the hepatic extraction of 1 was evaluated in rats (30%) and monkeys (47%). The low oral bioavailability in rats could be explained completely by poor oral absorption and hepatic first-pass metabolism; in monkeys, oral absorption was either less than in rats or first-pass extraction in the gut was greater. In an attempt to increase oral exposure, the pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of two potential prodrugs of 1, an N-ethyl [(R)-N-[4-[2-[ethyl[2-hydroxy-2-(3-pyridinyl)
ethyl]amino]ethyl]phenyl]-4-[4-
ethyl]amino]ethyl]phenyl]-4-[4-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]thiazol-2-yl]benzenesulfonamide; 2] and a morpholine derivative [(R)-N-[4-[2-[2-(3-pyridinyl)morpholin-4-yl]ethyl]phenyl]-4-[4-[4-(trifluoromethyl)-phenyl]thiazol-2-yl]benzenesulfonamide; 3], were evaluated in monkeys. Conversion to 1 was low (Ͻ3%) with both derivatives, and neither entity was an effective prodrug, but the oral bioavailability of 3 (56%) compared with 1 (4%) was significantly improved. The hypothesis that the increased oral bioavailability of 3 was due to a reduction in hydrogen bonding sites in the molecule led to the design of (R) The prevalence of obesity is increasing throughout the world and especially in the United States (Kuczmarski et al., 1994, Wickelgren, 1998. This health risk is associated with the onset of other conditions such as noninsulin-dependent diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Pi-Sunyer, 1993). Basically, obesity is the result of an imbalance between caloric intake and energy expenditure. The challenge of reducing caloric intake in an obese population has led to a focus on pharmaceutical intervention to achieve weight loss. A number of therapeutic strategies have been explored for the pharmacological treatment of obesity (Kordik and Reitz, 1999). One potential mechanism for increasing energy expenditure is via activation of a unique -adrenergic receptor subtype, the  3 -adrenergic receptor (Arch and Wilson, 1996;Dow, 1997;Weber, 1998). This receptor has been identified on the surface of rat adipocytes, and its activation results in the stimulation of lipolysis (Arch et al., 1984). In brown adipose tissue,  3 -adrenergic receptor activation leads to up-regulation of UCP1, a mitochondria...