title: Evacetrapib is a novel, potent, and selective inhibitor of cholesteryl ester transfer protein that elevates HDL cholesterol without inducing aldosterone or increasing blood pressure.
abstract: Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) catalyses the exchange of cholesteryl ester and triglyceride between HDL and apoB containing lipoprotein particles. The role of CETP in modulating plasma HDL cholesterol levels in humans is well established and there have been significant efforts to develop CETP inhibitors to increase HDL cholesterol for the treatment of coronary artery disease. These efforts, however, have been hampered by the fact that most CETP inhibitors either have low potency or have undesirable side effects. In this study, we describe a novel benzazepine compound evacetrapib (LY2484595), which is a potent and selective inhibitor of CETP both in vitro and in vivo. Evacetrapib inhibited human recombinant CETP protein (5.5 nM IC(50)) and CETP activity in human plasma (36 nM IC(50)) in vitro. In double transgenic mice expressing human CETP and apoAI, evacetrapib exhibited an ex vivo CETP inhibition ED(50) of less than 5 mg/kg at 8 h post oral dose and significantly elevated HDL cholesterol. Importantly, no blood pressure elevation was observed in rats dosed with evacetrapib at high exposure multiples compared with the positive control, torcetrapib. In addition, in a human adrenal cortical carcinoma cell line (H295R cells), evacetrapib did not induce aldosterone or cortisol biosynthesis whereas torcetrapib dramatically induced aldosterone and cortisol biosynthesis. Our data indicate that evacetrapib is a potent and selective CETP inhibitor without torcetrapib-like off-target liabilities. Evacetrapib is currently in phase II clinical development.
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285. Electronic address: gcao999@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Guoqing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Youyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Yan Q
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Sandra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Cockerham
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Sotirios K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Karathanasis
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Ellen A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Cannady
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fields
authors.affiliation: Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
authors.forename: Nathan B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Mantlo
mesh_terms: D000450:Aldosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D053480:Cholesterol Ester Transfer Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D051381:Rats; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D053480:Cholesterol Ester Transfer Proteins; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D000450:Aldosterone; C568301:evacetrapib