Safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of 2‐pyridylacetic acid, a major metabolite of betahistine, in a phase 1 dose escalation study in subjects with ADHD

Abstract Betahistine, a potent histamine H 3 receptor antagonist, is being developed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that manifests with symptoms such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. This study describes the pharmacokinetics of betahistine in ADHD subjects at doses higher than 50 mg. These assessments were made during a randomized, placebo‐controlled, single blind, dose escalation study to determine the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of once daily doses of 50 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg of betahistine in subjects with ADHD. Plasma levels of 2‐pyridylacetic acid (2‐PAA), a major metabolite of betahistine were quantified using a validated LC‐MS/MS method and used for pharmacokinetic analysis and dose proportionality of betahistine. A linear relationship was observed in C max and AUC 0‐4 of 2‐PAA with the betahistine dose ( R 2 0.9989 and 0.9978, respectively) and dose proportionality coefficients (β) for the power model were 0.8684 ( C max ) and 1.007 ( AUC 0‐4 ). A population pharmacokinetic model with first‐order absorption of betahistine and metabolism to 2‐PAA, followed by a first‐order elimination of 2‐PAA provides estimates of clearance that underscored the linear increase in systemic exposure with dose. There were no serious adverse events reported in the study, betahistine was safe and well tolerated at all the dose levels tested. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.