Development of Liposomal Vesicles for Osimertinib Delivery to EGFR Mutation—Positive Lung Cancer Cells

Osimertinib (OSI, AZD9291), is a third-generation, irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) that selectively inhibits both EGFR-TKI–sensitizing and EGFR T790M resistance mutations. OSI has been approved as a first-line treatment of EGFR-mutant lung cancer and for metastatic EGFR T790M-mutant non-small cell lung cancer. Liposome-based delivery of OSI can provide a new formulation of the drug that can be administered via alternative delivery routes (intravenous, inhalation). In this manuscript, we report for the first time development and characterization of liposomal OSI formulations with diameters of ca. 115 nm. Vesicles were composed of phosphatidylcholines with various saturation and carbon chain lengths, cholesterol and pegylated phosphoethanolamine. Liposomes were loaded with OSI passively, resulting in a drug being dissolved in the phospholipid matrix or actively via remote-loading leading to the formation of OSI precipitate in the liposomal core. Remotely loaded liposomes were characterized by nearly 100% entrapment efficacy and represent a depot of OSI. Passively-loaded vesicles released OSI following the Peppas-Sahlin model, in a mechanism combining drug diffusion and liposome relaxation. OSI-loaded liposomes composed of l-α-phosphatidylcholine (egg-PC) demonstrated a higher toxicity in non-small lung cancer cells with EGFR T790M resistance mutation (H-1975) when compared with free OSI. Developed OSI formulations did not show antiproliferative activity in vitro in healthy lung epithelial cells (MRC-5) without the EGFR mutation.