Dirk M. Barends

Bioavailability of carbamazepine from four different products and the occurrence of side effects

The relative bioavailability of four different carbamazepine products, showing large differences in in vitro dissolution profiles, was studied in healthy volunteers to correlate the occurrence of side effects with a measure of the rate of absorption in vivo for bioequivalence testing. Two of the three generic products investigated showed bioequivalence with respect to the extent of absorption with Tegretol®. In vivo, the differences found in absorption rate were reflected in the occurrence of side effects, especially dizziness. As a measure for the rate of absorption, the partial AUC did not seem to be a good characteristic to test bioequivalence, as the variability is very high and dependent on the AUC taken. The Cmax/AUCpart seems more promising, especially the partial AUC directly after completion of the absorption process. The variability is low in the case of carbamazepine after a single dose. However, as long as no consensus on the use of other metrics and the objective (clinical or quality control aspects) of bioequivalence testing is reached, and no other pharmacokinetic characteristic is validated, Cmax should be the characteristic of choice for the rate of absorption in single‐dose studies with carbamazepine products. Copyright

Biowaiver Monographs for Immediate-Release Solid Oral Dosage Forms: Ketoprofen

Literature and experimental data relevant to the decision to allow a waiver of in vivo bioequivalence (BE) testing for the approval of immediate-release (IR) solid oral dosage forms containing ketoprofen are reviewed. Ketoprofens solubility and permeability, its therapeutic use and therapeutic index, pharmacokinetic properties, data related to the possibility of excipient interactions, and reported BE/bioavailability (BA)/dissolution data were taken into consideration. The available data suggest that according to the current Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) and all current guidances, ketoprofen is a weak acid that would be assigned to BCS Class II. The extent of ketoprofen absorption seems not to depend on formulation or excipients, so the risk of bioinequivalence in terms of area under the curve is very low, but the rate of absorption (i.e., BE in terms of peak plasma concentration, C(max) ) can be altered by formulation. Current in vitro dissolution methods may not always reflect differences in terms of C(max) for BCS Class II weak acids; however, such differences in absorption rate are acceptable for ketoprofen with respect to patient risks. As ketoprofen products may be taken before or after meals, the rate of absorption cannot be considered crucial to drug action. Therefore, a biowaiver for IR ketoprofen solid oral dosage form is considered feasible, provided that (a) the test product contains only excipients present also in IR solid oral drug products containing ketoprofen, which are approved in International Conference on Harmonisation or associated countries, for instance, as presented in this paper; (b) both the test drug product and the comparator dissolve 85% in 30 min or less in pH 6.8 buffer; and (c) test product and comparator show dissolution profile similarity in pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8. When one or more of these conditions are not fulfilled, BE should be established in vivo.

Biowaiver Monographs for Immediate Release Solid Oral Dosage Forms: Metronidazole

Literature data relevant to the decision to allow a waiver of in vivo bioequivalence (BE) testing for the approval of immediate release (IR) solid oral dosage forms containing metronidazole are reviewed. Metronidazole can be assigned to Biopharmaceutics Classification System Class I. Most BE studies that were identified reported the investigated formulations to be bioequivalent, indicating the risk of bioinequivalence to be low. Formulations showing differences in bioavailability showed dissimilarities in in vitro dissolution profiles. Furthermore, metronidazole has a wide therapeutic index. It is concluded that a biowaiver for solid IR formulations is justified, provided: (a) the test product and its comparator are both rapidly dissolving; (b) meet similarity of the dissolution profiles at pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8; (c) the test product contains only excipients present in IR drug products approved in International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) or associated countries in the same dosage form; and (d) if the test product contains sorbitol, sodium laurilsulfate, or propylene glycol, the test product needs to be qualitatively and quantitatively identical to its comparator with respect to these excipients [corrected]..

Biowaiver Monograph for Immediate-Release Solid Oral Dosage Forms: Acetylsalicylic Acid

A biowaiver monograph for acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is presented. Literature and experimental data indicate that ASA is a highly soluble and highly permeable drug, leading to assignment of this active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) to Class I of the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS). Limited bioequivalence (BE) studies reported in the literature indicate that products that have been tested are bioequivalent. Most of the excipients used in products with a marketing authorization in Europe are not considered to have an impact on gastrointestinal motility or permeability. Furthermore, ASA has a wide therapeutic index. Thus, the risks to the patient that might occur if a nonbioequivalent product were to be incorrectly deemed bioequivalent according to the biowaiver procedure appear to be minimal. As a result, the BCS-based biowaiver procedure can be recommended for approval of new formulations of solid oral dosage forms containing ASA as the only API, including both multisource and reformulated products, under the following conditions: (1) excipients are chosen from those used in ASA products already registered in International Conference on Harmonization and associated countries and (2) the dissolution profiles of the test and the comparator products comply with the BE guidance.

Biowaiver Monographs for Immediate Release Solid Oral Dosage Forms: Levofloxacin

Literature data relevant to the decision to allow a waiver of in vivo bioequivalence (BE) testing for the approval of immediate release (IR) solid oral dosage forms containing levofloxacin as the only active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) are reviewed. According to the current Biopharmaceutics Classification System, levofloxacin can be assigned to Class I. No problems with BE of IR levofloxacin formulations containing different excipients and produced by different manufacturing methods have been reported and hence the risk of bioinequivalence caused by these factors appears to be low. In addition, levofloxacin has a wide therapeutic index. On the basis of this evidence, a biowaiver is recommended for IR solid oral dosage forms containing levofloxacin as the single API provided that (a) the test product contains only excipients present in IR levofloxacin drug products that have been approved in International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) or associated countries and which have the same dosage form; (b) both the test and comparator dosage form are very rapidly dissolving or rapidly dissolving with similarity of the dissolution profiles demonstrated at pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8; and (c) if the test product contains polysorbates, it should be both qualitatively and quantitatively identical to its comparator in terms of polysorbate content.

Biowaiver monographs for immediate‐release solid oral dosage forms: Stavudine

Literature data relevant to the decision to allow a waiver of in vivo bioequivalence (BE) testing for the approval of immediate-release (IR) solid oral dosage forms containing stavudine (d4T) are reviewed. According to Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS), d4T can be assigned to BCS class I. No problems with BE of IR d4T formulations containing different excipients and produced by different manufacturing methods have been reported and, hence, the risk of bioinequivalence caused by these factors appears to be low. Furthermore, d4T has a wide therapeutic index. It is concluded that a biowaiver is appropriate for IR solid oral dosage forms containing d4T as the single active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) provided that (a) the test product contains only excipients present in the IR d4T drug products that have been approved in a number of countries for the same dosage form, and (b) both test product and its comparator are either very rapidly dissolving or rapidly dissolving with similarity of dissolution profiles demonstrated at pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8.

Biowaiver Monographs for Immediate Release Solid Oral Dosage Forms: Piroxicam

Literature and experimental data relevant to the decision to allow a waiver of in vivo bioequivalence (BE) testing for the approval of immediate release (IR) solid oral dosage forms containing piroxicam in the free acid form are reviewed. Piroxicam solubility and permeability, its therapeutic use and therapeutic index, pharmacokinetic properties, data related to the possibility of excipient interactions and reported BE/bioavailability (BA), and corresponding dissolution data are taken into consideration. The available data suggest that according to the current biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS) and all current guidances, piroxicam would be assigned to BCS Class II. The extent of piroxicam absorption seems not to depend on manufacturing conditions or excipients, so the risk of bioinequivalence in terms of area under the curve (AUC) is very low, but the rate of absorption (i.e., BE in terms of Cmax ) can be affected by the formulation. Current in vitro dissolution methods may not always reflect differences in terms of Cmax for BCS Class II weak acids; however, minor differences in absorption rate of piroxicam would not subject the patient to unacceptable risks: as piroxicam products may be taken before or after meals, the rate of absorption cannot be considered crucial to drug action. Therefore, a biowaiver for IR piroxicam solid oral dosage form is considered feasible, provided that (a) the test product contains only excipients, which are also present in IR solid oral drug products containing piroxicam, which have been approved in ICH or associated countries, for instance, those presented in Table 3 of this paper; (b) both the test and comparator drug products dissolve 85% in 30 min or less at pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8; and (c) the test product and comparator show dissolution profile similarity in pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8. When not all of these conditions can be fulfilled, BE of the products should be established in vivo.

Risk analysis in bioequivalence and biowaiver decisions

This article evaluates the current biowaiver guidance documents published by the FDA, EU and WHO from a risk based perspective. The authors introduce the use of a Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) risk calculation tool to show that current regulatory documents implicitly limit the risk for bioinequivalence after granting a biowaiver by reduction of the incidence, improving the detection and limiting the severity of any unforeseen bioinequivalent product. In addition, the authors use the risk calculation to expose yet unexplored options for future extension of comparative in vitro tools for biowaivers.

Biowaiver monographs for immediate release solid oral dosage forms: Amodiaquine hydrochloride

The present monograph reviews data relevant to applying the biowaiver procedure for the approval of immediate release (IR) multisource solid dosage forms containing amodiaquine hydrochloride (ADQ) as the single active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). Both biopharmaceutical and clinical data of ADQ were assessed. Solubility studies revealed that ADQ meets the highly soluble criteria according to World Health Organization (WHO) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) but fails to comply with the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) specifications. Although metabolism hints at high permeability, available permeability data are too scanty to classify ADQ inequivocably as a Class I drug substance. According to WHO and EMA guidances, ADQ would be conservatively categorized as a Class III drug, whereas according to the US FDA specifications, it would fall into Class IV. ADQ has a wide therapeutic index. Furthermore, no cases of bioinequivalent products have been reported in the open literature. As risks associated with biowaiving appear minimal and requirements for highly soluble API are met in the WHO and EMA jurisdictions, the biowaiver procedure can be recommended for bioequivalence (BE) testing of multisource IR products containing ADQ as the only API, provided the test product contains excipients used in ADQ products approved in International Conference of Harmonisation and associated countries, and in similar amounts. Furthermore, both comparator and test should conform to very rapidly dissolving product criteria (≥85% dissolution of the API in 15 min at pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8) and the labeling should specify that the product not be coadministered with high-fat meals. If the comparator and/or test product fails to meet these criteria, BE needs to be established by pharmacokinetic studies in humans.

Biowaiver monographs for immediate-release solid oral dosage forms: primaquine phosphate.

Literature data relevant to the decision to allow a waiver of in vivo bioequivalence (BE) testing for the approval of immediate-release (IR) solid oral dosage forms containing the antimalarial drug primaquine phosphate as the only active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) are reviewed. On the basis of permeability data and solubility studies, primaquine phosphate was found to be highly soluble and highly permeable API, thus conforming to Class I of the Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS). It has a wide therapeutic index. BCS-conform dissolution studies showed the products to be rapidly dissolving. No data pertaining to BE or bioinequivalence of IR primaquine phosphate products could be located in open literature. On the basis of the available data, a biowaiver-procedure-based approval can be recommended for IR solid oral dosage forms of primaquine phosphate, provided the generic product contains excipients present in products already approved by the International Conference on Harmonisation or associated countries in similar amounts and the test and reference products meet the dissolution criteria for rapidly dissolving (>85% drug release in 30 min in standard media at pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8; similarity factor (f(2)) > 50) or very rapidly dissolving products (>85% drug release in 15 min in standard media at pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8).