Pharmacological studies with beclobrate, a new hypolipidemic agent.

A new diphenylmethane derivative with potent hypolipidemic activity, ethyl-(+/-)-2-[[alpha-(p-chlorophenyl)-p-tolyl]-oxy]-2-methylbutyrate (Sgd 24774, beclobrate) has been investigated in animals. From a comparison of the ED25 values of beclobrate and clofibrate, the new drug is 11 times more potent with respect to its hypocholesterolemic activity and 36 times more hypotriglyceridemic in normally fed rats, and lowers fructose-induced hypertriglyceridemia in rats 20 times as effectively as does clofibrate. On a similar basis of comparison, the hepatomegalic effect of beclobrate in rats is 22 times that of clofibrate. High doses of beclobrate did not reveal any other peripheral or central effects in a wide range of pharmacological tests, indicating a high specificity of the action of the drug on blood lipids. On the basis of the results of interaction studies performed with beclobrate in animals, administration of the substance in man should be largely free from risk.