OF THE OVERALL U54 CENTER Assessing the risk of adverse natural product (NP)-drug interactions (NPDIs) is of paramount importance due to the exponential NP sales growth in the US. This effort is challenged by relatively scant pharmacokinetic knowledge of individual NP constituents that precipitate these interactions and a lack of mechanistic understanding of NP effects on drug disposition. Investigations of NPDIs to address these knowledge gaps are complicated by the inherently large variability in phytoconstituent composition of supposedly the same NP, acquisition of sufficient high-quality NP study materials, and the diverse populations to which NPs are marketed, including the elderly. Our established Center of Excellence for Natural Product Drug Interaction Research (NaPDI Center) was created by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Heath (NCCIH) in 2015 to address this public health problem. A cross-disciplinary research team composed of experts in clinical pharmacology, NP chemistry, biomedical informatics, and health communications led the charge to address the challenges unique to NPDI research. As detailed in this renewal application, we will advance the mission of the NaPDI Center by designing and executing new mechanistically-driven Interaction Projects, expanding the utility of our web-based data repository and public portal, and broadening dissemination of knowledge to national and international research communities. These activities will be accomplished through synergistic interactions between three established scientific Cores (Pharmacology, Analytical, and Informatics) and an overarching Administrative Core. The Pharmacology Core will expand an innovative method to select three to five high priority NPs to study as precipitants of potential clinically significant NPDIs. The Analytical Core will source and fully characterize the chemical composition of commercially available, representative NPs and provide NP study materials free of adulterants and contaminants for the Interaction Projects. The Pharmacology Core will design and execute rigorous in vitro studies to establish the mechanism of NP effects on drug disposition; predict the magnitude of NPDIs using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling and simulation; and design and conduct clinical NPDI studies. The Analytical Core will provide quantitative analysis of object drugs, NP constituents, and emerging drug disposition biomarkers in the human pharmacokinetic samples. The interpreted data generated from the Interaction Projects will be transferred to the data repository developed and maintained by the Informatics Core. Major findings will be disseminated to scientific and other interested communities through our unique public access web portal perpetuated by the Informatics Core. All Cores will share the task of broadening Center outreach activities through targeted workshops and symposia at national and international scientific meetings. A Steering Committee composed of Core leaders and NCCIH officials will jointly oversee Center scientific progress with an External Advisory Panel of experts in relevant fields selected by NCCIH.
FOR THE OVERALL U54 CENTER The mission of our Center of Excellence for Natural Product Drug Interaction Research is to provide leadership and guidance on how best to study potential adverse interactions between natural products and conventional medications. Our cross-disciplinary team of experts in clinical pharmacology, natural products chemistry, and health information management and communication will partner with NCCIH officials to select and characterize three to five high priority natural products with the potential to alter drug disposition and lead to suboptimal therapeutic outcomes. A series of carefully designed studies will be executed to assess the drug interaction potential of the selected priority natural products, the major findings of which will be disseminated through our publicly accessible database and at scientific and other relevant meetings to educate researchers and maximize public health benefit.
