Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamic Effects of a Selective TGR5 Agonist, SB-756050, in Type 2 Diabetes

TGR5 is a bile acid receptor and a potential target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We report here the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamic effects of a selective TGR5 agonist, SB-756050, in patients with T2D. Fifty-one subjects were randomized to receive either placebo or one of four doses of SB-756050 for 6 days. A single 100 mg dose of sitagliptin was co-administered on Day 6 to all subjects. SB-756050 was well-tolerated; it was readily absorbed, exhibited nonlinear pharmacokinetics with a less than dose-proportional increase in plasma exposure above 100 mg, and demonstrated no significant changes in exposure when co-administered with sitagliptin. SB-756050 demonstrated highly variable pharmacodynamic effects both within dose groups and between doses, with increases in glucose seen at the two lowest doses and no reduction in glucose seen at the two highest doses. The glucose effects of SB-756050 + sitagliptin were comparable to those of sitagliptin alone, even though gut hormone plasma profiles were different. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00733577).