Evaluation of subchronic toxicity of GRD081, a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, after 28-day repeated oral administration in Sprague–Dawley rats and beagle dogs

GRD081, a newly developed dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, is now being considered for evaluation in phase I clinical trial. In this work, the subchronic toxicity of GRD081 in Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats and beagle dogs has been characterized. Rats and dogs received GRD081 orally (2, 5, 10 and 1, 2, 4 mg/kg/day, respectively) on a consecutive daily dosing schedule for 28 days following a 14 days of recovery period. The treatment resulted in unscheduled mortality in rats receiving 5 mg/kg/day and 10 mg/kg/day. The adverse effects of GRD081 on rats and dogs mainly included myelosuppression, immunosuppression, hematological toxicity, and moderate liver, pancreas and kidney toxicity. These observations are consistent with pharmacologic perturbations of physiologic processes associated with the intended molecular targets for this class of PI3K/mTOR signaling inhibitors. Most of the treatment-induced effects were reversible upon discontinuation of treatment. The no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of GRD081 was 1 mg/kg/day for beagle dogs and less than 2 mg/kg/day for SD rats.