Discovery and development of statins polar methane sulfonamide group, which is quite hydrophilic and confers low lipophilicity. The sulfonamide group forms a unique polar interaction with the enzyme. As a result, rosuvastatin has superior binding affinity to the HMGR enzyme compared to the other statins, which is directly related to its efficiency to lower LDL cholesterol. Lipophilicity of the statins is considered to be quite important since the hepatoselectivity of the statins is related to their lipophilicity. The more lipophilic statins tend to achieve higher levels of exposure in non-hepatic tissues, while the hydrophilic statins tend to be more hepatoselective. The difference in selectivity is
Discovery and development of statins dominant. CYP3A4 isoenzyme is the most predominant isoform involved in metabolism of lovastatin, simvastatin, atorvastatin and cerivastatin. CYP2C9 isoenzyme is the most predominant isoform involved in metabolism of Fluvastatin, but CYP3A4 and CYP2C8 isoenzymes also contribute to the metabolism of Fluvastatin. Rosuvastatin is metabolized to a small degree by CYP2C9 and to a lesser extent by CYP2C19 isoenzymes. Pravastatin is not metabolized by CYP isoenzymes to any appreciable extent. The statins that have the ability to be metabolized by multiple CYP isoenzymes may therefore avoid drug accumulation when one of the pathways is inhibited by co-administered drugs. With the recent