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Pyrimethamine

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Pyrimethamine
Clinical data
Pronunciation/ˌpɪrɪˈmɛθəmɪn/
Trade namesDaraprim
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
MedlinePlusa601050
Pregnancy
category
  • AU: B3
Routes of
administration		By mouth
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailabilitywell-absorbed
Protein binding87%
MetabolismLiver
Elimination half-life96 hours
ExcretionKidney
Identifiers
  • 5-(4-chlorophenyl)-6-ethyl- 2,4-pyrimidinediamine
CAS Number
PubChem CID
IUPHAR/BPS
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEBI
ChEMBL
PDB ligand
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
ECHA InfoCard100.000.331 Edit this at Wikidata
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC12H13ClN4
Molar mass248.71 g/mol g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
Melting point233 to 234 °C (451 to 453 °F)
  • Clc2ccc(c1c(nc(nc1CC)N)N)cc2
  • InChI=1S/C12H13ClN4/c1-2-9-10(11(14)17-12(15)16-9)7-3-5-8(13)6-4-7/h3-6H,2H2,1H3,(H4,14,15,16,17) checkY
  • Key:WKSAUQYGYAYLPV-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  (verify)

Pyrimethamine, sold under the trade name Daraprim, is a medication used with leucovorin to treat toxoplasmosis and cystoisosporiasis.[1][2] It is also used with dapsone as a second-line option to prevent Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia in people with HIV/AIDS.[1] It was previously used for malaria, but is no longer recommended due to resistance.[1] Pyrimethamine is taken by mouth.[1]

Common side effects include gastrointestinal upset, severe allergic reactions, and bone marrow suppression.[1] It should not be used by people with folate deficiency that has resulted in anemia.[1] There is concern that it may increase the risk of cancer.[1] While occasionally used in pregnancy it is unclear if pyrimethamine is safe for the baby.[3] Pyrimethamine is classified as a folic acid antagonist.[1] It works by inhibiting folic acid metabolism and therefore the making of DNA.[1]

Pyrimethamine was discovered in 1952 and came into medical use in 1953.[1][4] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system.[5] In the United States in 2015, it was not available as a generic medication and the price was increased from US$13.50 to 750 a tablet ($75,000 for a course of treatment).[6][2][7] In other areas of the world, it is available as a generic and costs as little as $0.05 to 0.10 per dose.[8]

Medical uses

Pyrimethamine is typically given with a sulfonamide and folinic acid.[9]

It is used for the treatment of toxoplasmosis, actinomycosis, and isosporiasis, and for the treatment and prevention of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia.[citation needed]

Toxoplasmosis

Pyrimethamine is also used in combination with sulfadiazine to treat active toxoplasmosis. The two drugs bind the same enzymatic targets as the drugs trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole - dihydrofolate reductase and dihydropteroate synthase, respectively.

Pyrimethamine has also been used in several trials to treat retinochoroiditis.[10]

Pregnancy consideration

Pyrimethamine is labeled as pregnancy category C in the United States.[11] To date, not enough evidence on its risks in pregnancy or its effects on the fetus is available.[11][12]

Malaria

It is primarily active against Plasmodium falciparum, but also against Plasmodium vivax.[13] Due to the emergence of pyrimethamine-resistant strains of P. falciparum, pyrimethamine alone is seldom used now. In combination with a long-acting sulfonamide such as sulfadiazine, it was widely used, such as in Fansidar, though resistance to this combination is increasing.[13]

Contraindications

Pyrimethamine is contraindicated in people with folate-deficiency anaemia[9]

Side effects

When higher doses are used, as in the treatment of toxoplasmosis, pyrimethamine can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, glossitis, anorexia, and diarrhea.[14][12] A rash, which can be indicative of a hypersensitivity reaction, is also seen, particularly in combination with sulfonamides.[12] Central nervous system effects include ataxia, tremors, and seizures.[14] Hematologic side effects such as thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and anemia can also occur.[14]

Interactions

Other antifolate agents such as methotrexate and trimethoprim may potentiate the antifolate actions of pyrimethamine, leading to potential folate deficiency, anaemia, and other blood dyscrasias.[9]

Mechanism of action

Pyrimethamine interferes with the regeneration of tetrahydrofolic acid from dihydrofolate by competitively inhibiting the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase.[15] Tetrahydrofolic acid is essential for DNA and RNA synthesis in many species, including protozoa.[15] It has also been found to reduce the expression of SOD1, a key protein involved in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.[16][17]

Other medications

Pyrimethamine is typically given with folinic acid and sulfadiazine.

Mechanism of resistance

Resistance to pyrimethamine is widespread. Mutations in the malarial gene for dihydrofolate reductase may reduce its effectiveness.[18] These mutations decrease the binding affinity between pyrimethamine and dihydrofolate reductase via loss of hydrogen bonds and steric interactions.[19]

History

Synthesis of pyrimethamine typically begins with p-chlorophenylacetonitrile, which undergoes a condensation reaction with ethyl propionate ester; the product of this then reacts with diazomethane to form an enol ether, which reacts with free guanidine in a second condensation reaction.

Nobel Prize-winning American scientist Gertrude Elion developed the drug at Burroughs-Wellcome (now part of GlaxoSmithKline) to combat malaria.[20] Pyrimethamine has been available since 1953.[21] In 2010, GlaxoSmithKline sold the marketing rights for Daraprim to CorePharma. Impax Laboratories sought to buy CorePharma in 2014, and completed the acquisition, including Daraprim, in March 2015.[22] In August 2015, the rights were bought by Turing Pharmaceuticals.[23] Turing subsequently became known for a price hike controversy when it raised the price of a dose of the drug in the U.S. market from US$13.50 to US$750, a 5,500% increase.[24]

Availability and price

In the United States, as of 2015, with Turing Pharmaceuticals' acquisition of the US marketing rights for Daraprim tablets,[25] Daraprim has become a single-source and specialty pharmacy item, and the price of Daraprim has been increased.[26] The cost of a monthly course for a person on 75 mg dose rose to about $75,000/month, or $750 per tablet.[27][28] Outpatients can no longer obtain Daraprim from their community pharmacy, but only through a single dispensing pharmacy, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, and institutions can no longer order from their general wholesaler, but have to set up an account with the Daraprim Direct program.[26][29] Presentations from Retrophin, a company formerly headed by Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing, from which Turing acquired the rights to Daraprim, suggest that a closed distribution system could prevent generic competitors from legally obtaining the drugs for the bioequivalence studies required for FDA approval of a generic drug.[29]

Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing, defended the price hike by saying, "If there was a company that was selling an Aston Martin at the price of a bicycle, and we buy that company and we ask to charge Toyota prices, I don't think that that should be a crime."[30][31] As a result of the backlash, Shkreli hired a crisis public relations firm to help explain his fund's move.[32] Turing Pharmaceuticals announced on November 24, 2015, "that it would not reduce the list price of that drug after all", but they will offer various patient assistance programs.[33] However, New York Times journalist Andrew Pollack noted that these programs "are standard for companies selling extremely high-priced drugs. They enable the patients to get the drug while pushing most of the costs onto insurance companies and taxpayers."[33]

The price increase has been fiercely criticised by physician groups such as HIV Medicine Associates and Infectious Diseases Society of America.[34]

In 2016, a group of high school students from Sydney Grammar supported by the University of Sydney prepared pyrimethamine as an illustration that the synthesis is comparatively easy and the price-hike unjustifiable. Shkreli said the schoolboys were not competition, likely because the necessary bioequivalence studies require a sample of the existing medication provided directly by the company, and not simply purchased from a pharmacy, which Turing could decline to provide.[35][36]

In India, over a dozen pharmaceutical companies manufacture and sell pyrimethamine tablets, and multiple combinations of generic pyrimethamine are available for a price ranging from US$0.04 to US$0.10 each (3–7 rupees).[37][38][39][8]

In the UK, the same drug is available from GSK at a cost of US$20 (£13) for 30 tablets (about $0.66 each).[40]

In Australia, the drug is available in most pharmacies at a cost of US$9.35 (A$12.99) for 50 tablets (around US$0.18 each).[41]

In Brazil, the drug is available for R$0.07 a pill, or about US$0.02.[42]

In Canada, the drug was reportedly discontinued in 2013, but hospitals may make the drug in-house when it is needed.[43] As of December 2015, Daraprim imported into Canada directly from GSK UK is available from an online pharmacy for US$2.20 per tablet.[44]

In Switzerland, the drug is available for US$9.45 (CHF9.05) for 30 tablets (around US$0.32 a piece).[45]

On October 22, 2015, Imprimis Pharmaceuticals announced it has made available compounded and customizable formulations of pyrimethamine and leucovorin in capsules to be taken by mouth starting as low as $99.00 for a 100-count bottle in the United States.[46] Compounded drugs do not require FDA approval in the US.

Research

In 2011, researchers discovered that pyrimethamine can increase β-hexosaminidase activity, thus potentially slowing down the progression of late-onset Tay–Sachs disease.[47] It is being evaluated in clinical trials as a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.[48]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b Hamilton, Richart (2015). Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia 2015 Deluxe Lab-Coat Edition. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 54. ISBN 9781284057560.
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  4. ^ Sylvie, Manguin; Pierre, Carnevale; Jean, Mouchet (2008). Biodiversity of Malaria in the world. John Libbey Eurotext. p. 6. ISBN 9782742009633.
  5. ^ "WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (19th List)" (PDF). World Health Organization. April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Mullin, Emily. "Turing Pharma Says Daraprim Availability Will Be Unaffected By Shkreli Arrest". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2016-11-10. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Alpern, JD; Song, J; Stauffer, WM (19 May 2016). "Essential Medicines in the United States--Why Access Is Diminishing". The New England Journal of Medicine. 374 (20): 1904–7. doi:10.1056/nejmp1601559. PMID 27192669.
  8. ^ a b "High Drug Prices: Should We Blame Pharma Or The FDA?". 29 September 2015. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b c Rossi, S, ed. (2013). Australian Medicines Handbook (2013 ed.). Adelaide: The Australian Medicines Handbook Unit Trust. ISBN 978-0-9805790-9-3.
  10. ^ Pradhan E, Bhandari S, Gilbert RE, Stanford M (2016). "Antibiotics versus no treatment for toxoplasma retinochoroiditis". Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 5 (5): CD002218. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD002218.pub2. PMID 27198629.
  11. ^ a b "Daraprim - FDA prescribing information, side effects and uses". www.drugs.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2016-11-07. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ a b c "Pyrimethamine | FDA Label - Tablet | AIDSinfo". AIDSinfo. Archived from the original on 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2016-11-07. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  16. ^ Limpert, AS; Mattmann, ME; Cosford, ND (2013). "Recent progress in the discovery of small molecules for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)" (PDF). Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry. 9: 717–32. doi:10.3762/bjoc.9.82. PMC 3678841. PMID 23766784. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-13. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Lange, DJ; Andersen, PM; Remanan, R; Marklund, S; Benjamin, D (April 2013). "Pyrimethamine decreases levels of SOD1 in leukocytes and cerebrospinal fluid of ALS patients: a phase I pilot study". Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis & Frontotemporal Degeneration. 14 (3): 199–204. doi:10.3109/17482968.2012.724074. PMID 22985433.
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  19. ^ Sirichaiwat C, et al. (2004). "Target guided synthesis of 5-benzyl-2,4-diamonopyrimidines: their antimalarial activities and binding affinities to wild type and mutant dihydrofolate reductases from Plasmodium falciparum". J Med Chem. 47 (2): 345–54. doi:10.1021/jm0303352. PMID 14711307.
  20. ^ Vasudevan, D.M.; Sreekumari, S.; Vaidyanathan, Kannan (2013). Textbook of Biochemistry for Medical Students. JP Medical Ltd. p. 491. ISBN 9789350905302. OCLC 843532694. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2016. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Ariana Eunjung Cha (2015-09-22). "CEO who raised price of old pill more than $700 calls journalist a 'moron' for asking why". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  28. ^ "WATCH: Ex-hedge funder who hiked AIDS pill cost by 5,500 percent says drug 'still underpriced'". RawStory.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  33. ^ a b Pollack, Andrew (24 November 2015). "Turing Refuses to Lower List Price of Toxoplasmosis Drug". New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-09-23. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  38. ^ "It is Cheaper for an American patient to fly out to India and buy a year's supply of the medication than buy a single Daraprim tablet in the US". Archived from the original on 2015-09-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  46. ^ "Imprimis Pharmaceuticals to Make Compounded and Customizable Formulation of Pyrimethamine and Leucovorin Available for Physicians to Prescribe for their Patients as an Alternative to Daraprim® - Oct 22, 2015". http://irdirect.net. Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-08-02. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  47. ^ Osher, E; Fattal-Valevski, A; Sagie, L; Urshanski, N; Amir-Levi, Y; Katzburg, S; Peleg, L; Lerman-Sagie, T; Zimran, A; Elstein, D; Navon, R; Stern, N; Valevski, A (March 2011). "Pyrimethamine increases β-hexosaminidase A activity in patients with Late Onset Tay Sachs". Molecular Genetics and Metabolism. 102 (3): 356–63. doi:10.1016/j.ymgme.2010.11.163. PMID 21185210.
  48. ^ "Pyrimethamine ALS trial". Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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