Development and full validation of an LC‐MS/MS methodology to quantify capmatinib (INC280) following intragastric administration to rats

A highly sensitive, specific and simple LC-MS/MS method for quantification of capmatinib (INC280) in rat plasma was presented. The LC-MS/MS method was validated in terms of specificity and selectivity, linearity, accuracy and precision, matrix effect, extraction recovery, dilution integrity, carryover and stability as per the US Food and Drug Administration's bioanalytical method validation guideline. The validated assay was applied for quantification of capmatinib from a pharmacokinetic study in rats following oral administration at the doses of 1.0, 3.0 and 9.0 mg/kg. The calibration curve ranges from 1 to 2000 ng/ml with desirable linearity and r(2) > 0.99. The intra- and inter-batch accuracies were within 99.24-103.59 and 97.76-102.83% with coefficients of variation 5.08-7.36 and 3.18-4.99%, respectively. No significant interference was observed by endogenous peak at the retention time of capmatinib and IS. The assay was free from any matrix effect and showed precise recovery across the calibration curve range, and samples were stable under all experimental conditions. The validated assay was successfully applied to analyze plasma samples of pharmacokinetic study in rat to determine the concentration of capmatinib. In summary, a novel method for analyzing capmatinib in rat plasma has been successfully validated and is now being utilized for quantification of capmatinib from pre-clinical studies.