A thorough QT study to evaluate the effects of singledose exenatide 10 μg on cardiac repolarization in healthy subjects.

OBJECTIVE: This was a singledose, randomized, positive- and placebo-controlled, double-dummy, double-blinded, 3-period crossover thorough QT study of exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes that enhances insulin secretion in a glucose- dependent fashion. METHODS: Healthy subjects (n = 70) underwent an initial tolerability screening, receiving subcutaneous exenatide 10 μg daily for 3 consecutive days. Subjects who passed tolerability screening (n = 62) received exenatide 10 μg, placebo, and moxifloxacin (400 mg orally; positive control) separated by washout periods of approximately 5 days. Twelve-lead electrocardiograms and blood samples for plasma exenatide, glucose, and insulin were collected. QT intervals were heart rate-corrected using Fridericia's correction (QTcF) and an individual correction (QTcI) and were analyzed as change from predose (ΔQTcF, or ΔQTcI). The relationships between the QTc interval and plasma exenatide, glucose, and insulin concentrations were also explored. RESULTS: Based on ΔQTcF and ΔQTcI assessments, exenatide 10 μg did not show a clinically significant prolongation of QT compared with placebo; the upper bound of the 2-sided 90% confidence interval (CI) for the largest mean difference from placebo was < 10 msec with both corrections. A positive slope was observed between plasma exenatide and ΔΔQTcF (0.02 (95% CI 0.01, 0.03), p < 0.001); no significant slope was observed between plasma exenatide concentrations and ΔΔQTcI (0.01 (95% CI 0.00, 0.02), p = 0.064). The plasma exenatide versus QTc analyses may be confounded by exenatide's glucose-lowering effect. A negative slope was observed between plasma glucose and [delta]QTcF (-1.5 (95% CI -2.2, -0.7), p < 0.001) and between plasma glucose and ΔQTcI (-1.6 (95% CI -2.3, -0.9), p < 0.0001). Plasma insulin and ΔQTcF were not correlated. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that single-dose exenatide 10 μg was not associated with clinically meaningful prolongation of the QTc interval.