Disposition of (5H-dibenzo [a,d]cyclohepten-5-ylidene)acetic acid in laboratory animals

The disposition of (5H-dibenzoa,d]cyclohepten-5-ylidene)acetic acid (Wy-41,770), an anti-inflammatory agent, was investigated in rats, mice, rhesus monkeys, and dogs following single 12.5-mg/kg doses of 14C-labeled or unlabeled drug and in rodents receiving single 225-mg/kg doses of 14C-Wy-41,770. The drug was rapidly and well absorbed in all four animal species. Following an iv dose, plasma elimination half-lives of Wy-41,770 in monkeys and dogs were, respectively, 5.0 +/- 1.8 and 0.24 +/- 0.01 hr. Total body clearances (CL) of 1.8 +/- 0.2 ml/min/kg in monkeys and 7.7 +/- 1.1 ml/min/kg in dogs are low, indicating that, after an ig dose, little Wy-41,770 would be eliminated on first passage through the liver. The steady state volumes of distribution of 0.37 +/- 0.1 and 0.14 +/- 0.01 liters/kg, respectively, in monkeys and dogs are low, indicating limited extravascular distribution of Wy-41,770. Plasma half-lives of Wy-41,770 in rats and mice were, respectively, 10.8 and 8.4 hr. The longer half-life in rats compared to other animals is due to the extensive enterohepatic recycling of the drug in rats. The extensive cycling of the drug in rats may explain why ileocecal inflammation occurred in this species but not in mice and dogs following prolonged oral administration of high doses of Wy-41,770. Following a 12.5 mg/kg, ig dose, the rates of urinary excretion of radioactivity in monkeys, mice, and rats were, respectively, 73.4 +/- 10.7, 52.6 and 15.2% of the dose, whereas the fecal excretion was 9.1 +/- 3.7% in monkeys and 74.7% in rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)