Abstract
Background: Vortioxetine is a novel antidepressant that has been developed in a joint partnership between H. Lundbeck A/S and the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. Results: A number of bioanalytical methods have been developed in order to support the nonclinical and clinical development of the drug. Method performance, long-term stability, urine analysis, unspecific binding and metabolites analysis are presented and discussed. Conclusion: Two different method applications for the quantification of vortioxetine and its major human metabolite in human plasma, an isocratic cation exchange HPLC–MS/MS method utilizing C8-SPE sample extracts and a reversed-phase UPLC–MS/MS method with gradient elution of protein precipitated sample extracts, have been validated according to current regulatory standards and applied in support to a large number of nonclinical as well as clinical studies.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
All authors are full-time employees of H. Lundbeck A/S. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Ethical conduct of research
The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the entire staff of the Department for Bioanalysis at H. Lundbeck A/S, particularly Susanne Pihl and Mette N⊘hr Poulsen for their contribution to the bioanalytical support to the development of vortioxetine.