Zuranolone Explained

Width:250
Pronounce:
Tradename:Zurzuvae
Dailymedid:Zuranolone
Pregnancy Category:Contraindicated
Routes Of Administration:By mouth
Class:Neurosteroid
GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulator
Atc Prefix:None
Legal Us:Schedule IV
Legal Us Comment:[1]
Protein Bound:99.5%[2]
Metabolism:CYP3A4
Elimination Half-Life:16–23 hours[3] [4]
Cas Number:1632051-40-1
Pubchem:86294073
Drugbank:DB15490
Chemspiderid:71117610
Unii:7ZW49N180B
Kegg:D11793
Chebi:228302
Chembl:4105630
Synonyms:SAGE-217; S-812217; SGE-797; BIIB-125
Iupac Name:1-(2-((3R,5R,8R,9R,10S,13S,14S,17S)-3-Hydroxy-3,13-dimethylhexadecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[''a'']phenanthren-17-yl)-2-oxoethyl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonitrile
C:25
H:35
N:3
O:2
Smiles:O=C(CN1N=CC(C#N)=C1)[C@H]2CC[C@@]3([H])[C@]4([H])CC[C@]5([H])C[C@](C)(O)CC[C@]5([H])[C@@]4([H])CC[C@@]32C
Stdinchi:1S/C25H35N3O2/c1-24(30)9-7-18-17(11-24)3-4-20-19(18)8-10-25(2)21(20)5-6-22(25)23(29)15-28-14-16(12-26)13-27-28/h13-14,17-22,30H,3-11,15H2,1-2H3/t17-,18+,19-,20-,21+,22-,24-,25+/m1/s1
Stdinchikey:HARRKNSQXBRBGZ-GVKWWOCJSA-N

Zuranolone, sold under the brand name Zurzuvae, is a medication used for the treatment of postpartum depression.[5] It is taken by mouth.

The most common side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, diarrhea, fatigue, nasopharyngitis, and urinary tract infection. An orally active inhibitory pregnane neurosteroid, zuranolone acts as a positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor.[6] [7] [8]

Zuranolone was approved for medical use in the United States for the treatment of postpartum depression in August 2023. It was developed by Sage Therapeutics and Biogen.[9]

Medical uses

Zuranolone is indicated for the treatment of postpartum depression.[10]

Adverse effects

The most common side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, diarrhea, fatigue, and urinary tract infection.

The US FDA label contains a boxed warning noting that zuranolone can impact a person's ability to drive and perform other potentially hazardous activities. The use of zuranolone may cause suicidal thoughts and behavior. Zuranolone may also cause fetal harm.

History

Zuranolone was developed as an improvement on the intravenously administered neurosteroid brexanolone, with high oral bioavailability and a biological half-life suitable for once-daily administration.[7] [11] Its half-life is around 16 to 23hours, compared to approximately 9hours for brexanolone.[3] [4]

The efficacy of zuranolone for the treatment of postpartum depression in adults was demonstrated in two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter studies. The trial participants were women with postpartum depression who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for a major depressive episode and whose symptoms began in the third trimester or within four weeks of delivery. In study 1, participants received 50 mg of zuranolone or placebo once daily in the evening for 14 days. In study 2, participants received another zuranolone product that was approximately equal to 40 mg of zuranolone or placebo, also for 14 days. Participants in both studies were monitored for at least four weeks after the 14-day treatment. The primary endpoint of both studies was the change in depressive symptoms using the total score from the 17-item Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD-17), measured at day 15. Participants in the zuranolone groups showed significantly more improvement in their symptoms compared to those in the placebo groups. The treatment effect was maintained at day 42—four weeks after the last dose of zuranolone.

Society and culture

Zuranolone is the international nonproprietary name.[12]

Legal status

Zuranolone was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of postpartum depression in August 2023.[13] The FDA granted the application for zuranolone priority review and fast track designations. Approval of Zurzuvae was granted to Sage Therapeutics, Inc.

Zuranolone has also been under development for the treatment of major depressive disorder, but the application for this use was given a Complete Response Letter (CRL) by the FDA due to insufficient evidence of effectiveness.[14]

In the United States, zuranolone is a Schedule IV controlled substance.

Research

In a randomized, placebo-controlled phase III trial to assess its efficacy and safety for the treatment of major depressive disorder, subjects in the zuranolone group (50 mg oral zuranolone once daily for 14 days) experienced statistically significant and sustained improvements in depressive symptoms (as measured by HAM-D score) throughout the treatment and follow-up periods of the study.[15]

Other investigational applications include insomnia, bipolar depression, essential tremor, and Parkinson's disease.[16] [6] [17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of Zuranolone in Schedule IV . Federal Register . 2023-10-31 . 2024-03-05.
  2. Web site: Zuranolone . DrugBank Online .
  3. Cerne R, Lippa A, Poe MM, Smith JL, Jin X, Ping X, Golani LK, Cook JM, Witkin JM . GABAkines - Advances in the discovery, development, and commercialization of positive allosteric modulators of GABAA receptors . Pharmacology & Therapeutics . 234 . 108035 . 2022 . 34793859 . 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2021.108035 . 9787737 . 244280839.
  4. Faden J, Citrome L . Intravenous brexanolone for postpartum depression: what it is, how well does it work, and will it be used? . Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology . 10 . 2045125320968658 . 2020 . 33224470 . 7656877 . 10.1177/2045125320968658.
  5. Web site: Zurzuvae (zuranolone) capsules, for oral use, [controlled substance schedule pending] ]. 5 August 2023 . 5 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230805045153/https://documents.sage-biogen.com/us/zurzuvae/pi.pdf . live.
  6. Web site: SAGE 217 . AdisInsight . 10 February 2018 . 29 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190329112822/https://adisinsight.springer.com/drugs/800043382 . live.
  7. Blanco MJ, La D, Coughlin Q, Newman CA, Griffin AM, Harrison BL, Salituro FG . Breakthroughs in neuroactive steroid drug discovery . Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters . 28 . 2 . 61–70 . 2018 . 29223589 . 10.1016/j.bmcl.2017.11.043.
  8. Martinez Botella G, Salituro FG, Harrison BL, Beresis RT, Bai Z, Blanco MJ, Belfort GM, Dai J, Loya CM, Ackley MA, Althaus AL, Grossman SJ, Hoffmann E, Doherty JJ, Robichaud AJ . Neuroactive Steroids. 2. 3α-Hydroxy-3β-methyl-21-(4-cyano-1H-pyrazol-1'-yl)-19-nor-5β-pregnan-20-one (SAGE-217): A Clinical Next Generation Neuroactive Steroid Positive Allosteric Modulator of the (γ-Aminobutyric Acid)A Receptor . Journal of Medicinal Chemistry . 60 . 18 . 7810–7819 . 2017 . 28753313 . 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b00846.
  9. News: . FDA approves postpartum depression pill from two Cambridge drug firms . Jonathan . Saltzman . 4 August 2023 . 5 August 2023 . subscription . 6 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230806030238/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/08/04/business/fda-postpartum-depression-pill/ . live.
  10. FDA Approves First Oral Treatment for Postpartum Depression . U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) . 4 August 2023 . 4 August 2023.
  11. Althaus AL, Ackley MA, Belfort GM, Gee SM, Dai J, Nguyen DP, Kazdoba TM, Modgil A, Davies PA, Moss SJ, Salituro FG, Hoffmann E, Hammond RS, Robichaud AJ, Quirk MC, Doherty JJ . Preclinical characterization of zuranolone (SAGE-217), a selective neuroactive steroid GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulator . Neuropharmacology . 181 . 108333 . 2020 . 32976892 . 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108333 . 8265595.
  12. ((World Health Organization)) . 2019 . International nonproprietary names for pharmaceutical substances (INN): recommended INN: list 82 . WHO Drug Information . 33 . 3 . 10665/330879 . free . World Health Organization.
  13. FDA Approves Zurzuvae (zuranolone), the First and Only Oral Treatment Approved for Women with Postpartum Depression, and Issues a Complete Response Letter for Major Depressive Disorder . Biogen Inc. . GlobeNewswire . 4 August 2023 . 4 August 2023.
  14. Web site: Sage Hints at Difficult Decisions After Zuranolone's Rejection in MDD . Heather . McKenzie .
  15. Clayton AH, Lasser R, Parikh SV, Iosifescu DV, Jung J, Kotecha M, Forrestal F, Jonas J, Kanes SJ, Doherty J . Zuranolone for the Treatment of Adults With Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase 3 Trial . The American Journal of Psychiatry . 676–684 . May 2023 . 180 . 9 . 37132201 . 10.1176/appi.ajp.20220459 . 258461851.
  16. Deligiannidis KM, Meltzer-Brody S, Gunduz-Bruce H, Doherty J, Jonas J, Li S, Sankoh AJ, Silber C, Campbell AD, Werneburg B, Kanes SJ, Lasser R . Effect of Zuranolone vs Placebo in Postpartum Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial . JAMA Psychiatry . 78 . 9 . 951–959 . 2021 . 34190962 . 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1559 . 8246337.
  17. Bullock A, Kaul I, Li S, Silber C, Doherty J, Kanes SJ . Zuranolone as an oral adjunct to treatment of Parkinsonian tremor: A phase 2, open-label study . Journal of the Neurological Sciences . 421 . 117277 . 2021 . 33387701 . 10.1016/j.jns.2020.117277 . 229333842 . free.