Bioequivalence of Samchundang Lercanidipine Tablet 10 mg to Zanidip Tablet (Lercanidipine Hydrochloride 10 mg) by Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two lercanidipine hydrochloride tablets, Zanidip tablet (LG Life Sciences Ltd., Korea, reference drug) and Samchundang Lercanidipine tablet 10 mg (Sam Chun Dang Pharm. Co. Ltd., Korea, test drug), according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). After adding an internal standard (amlodipine maleate) to human serum, serum samples were extracted using hexan-isoamyl alcohol (100:1, v/v). Compounds were analyzed by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. This method showed linear response over the concentration range of 0.05-20 ng/mL with correlation coefficient of 0.9999. The lower limit of quantitation using 0.5 mL of serum was 0.05 ng/mL which was sensitive enough for pharmacokinetic studies. Thirty healthy male Korean volunteers received each medicine at the lercanidipine hydrochloride dose of 20 mg in a $2\;{\times}\;2$ crossover study. There was a one-week washout period between the doses. Serum concentrations of lercanidipine were monitored by an LC/MS/MS fer over a period of 24 hr after the administration. $AUC_t$ (the area under the serum concentration-time curve from time 0 to 24 hr) was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. $C_{max}$ (the maximum serum drug concentration) and $T_{max}$ (the time to reach $C_{max}$) were compiled from the serum concentration-time data. Analysis of variance was carried out using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t$ and $C_{max}$. No significant sequence effect was found for all of the bioavailability parameters, indicating that the crossover design was properly performed. The 90% confidence intervals of the $AUC_t$ ratio and the $C_{max}$ ratio for Samchundang Lercanidipine/Zanidip were log 0.9505-log 1.2258 and log 0.9987-log 1.2013, respectively. These values were within the acceptable bioequivalence intervals of log 0.80-log 1.25. Thus, the criteria of the KFDA guidelines for the bioequivalence was satisfied, indicating Samchundang Lercanidipine tablet 10 mg and Zanidip tablet are bioequivalent.