Combination of olanzapine and samidorphan has no clinically relevant effects on ECG parameters, including the QTc interval: Results from a phase 1 QT/QTc study

OLZ/SAM is a combination of olanzapine, an atypical antipsychotic, and samidorphan, an opioid antagonist, and is in development for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder. OLZ/SAM is under development with the intent to provide the established antipsychotic efficacy of olanzapine while mitigating olanzapine-associated weight gain. This thorough QT study assessed the effects of therapeutic and supratherapeutic doses of OLZ/SAM on cardiac repolarization in patients with schizophrenia. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo- and positive (moxifloxacin)-controlled, parallel-group study, 100 patients aged 18 to 60 years with stable schizophrenia were randomized 3:2 to the active arm and control arm. Subjects in the active arm received a therapeutic dose of 10/10 mg (10 mg olanzapine/10 mg samidorphan) on days 2–4, 20/20 mg on days 5–8, and a supratherapeutic dose of 30/30 mg (1.5 times and 3 times the maximum recommended daily dose of olanzapine and samidorphan, respectively) on days 9–13, and moxifloxacin-matched placebo on days 1 and 14. Subjects in the control arm received a single oral dose of moxifloxacin 400 mg and moxifloxacin-matched placebo on days 1 and 14 in a nested crossover fashion, along with OLZ/SAM-matched placebo on days 2–13. Serial electrocardiograms (ECGs) and simultaneous plasma drug concentrations were determined pre- and post-dose. The effects of OLZ/SAM on heart rate and ECG parameters (QT interval with Fridericia's correction [QTcF], PR and QRS interval, and T-wave morphology) were evaluated, and the primary endpoint was change from baseline in QTcF (ΔQTcF). The relationship between drug concentration and ΔQTcF (C-QTc) was evaluated using a linear mixed-effects model. Safety monitoring included adverse events reporting and clinical laboratory assessments. Based on primary analysis using C-QTc modeling, no clinically concerning QTc effect (ie, placebo-corrected ΔQTcF [ΔΔQTcF] ≥10 msec) was observed across the OLZ/SAM dose range tested (10/10 to 30/30 mg), up to olanzapine and samidorphan concentrations of approximately 110 and 160 ng/mL, respectively. The slope (90% confidence interval [CI]) of the C-QTc relationship was shallow and not significant for either olanzapine or samidorphan (0.03 [−0.01, 0.08] and 0.01 [−0.01, 0.04] msec per ng/mL, respectively). The predicted ΔΔQTcF (90% CI) was 2.33 (−2.72, 7.38) and 1.38 (−3.37, 6.12) msec at the observed geometric mean maximal concentration (Cmax) of olanzapine (62.6 ng/mL) and samidorphan (75.1 ng/mL) on day 13, respectively. The study's assay sensitivity was confirmed by the C-QTc relationship of moxifloxacin. OLZ/SAM was well tolerated at all doses; adverse events occurring in >5% of subjects treated with OLZ/SAM were somnolence, weight increased, nausea, and dizziness. This thorough QT study in patients with stable schizophrenia demonstrated that OLZ/SAM, in doses and plasma concentrations up to supratherapeutic levels, does not have a clinically relevant effect on ECG parameters, including QT/QTc prolongation.