The study of deuterated N-methyl hydrogen on the inhibition of morphine enzyme oxidation in 1961 has drawn great interests of the pharmaceutical industry ever since.
Since the breaking of carbon-hydrogen bonds is a common feature in drug metabolism, and the breaking of carbon-deuterium bonds is more difficult. The slower metabolic rate of deuterated compounds can increase the half-life or/and exposure of the active drug, and it has the potential of reducing the dosing frequency or dosage. Another advantage is that this substitution can also reduce toxicity by reducing the formation of toxic metabolites.
The FDA and NMPA have approved the first deuterated drug, AUSTEDO® (deutetrabenazine), for the treatment of Huntington's chorea. HC-1119, the first deuterium-generation drug for prostate cancer manufactured by Hinova, has entered Phase-III clinical studies in Hinova.