• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.207-216
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• 2009

Fluconazole is used as an orally administrated antifungal drug for the treatment of tinea corporis, candidiasis including skin mycotic pneumonia infections. The dosage of fluconazole varies with indication ranging from 50 mg/day to 400 mg/day. The fluconazole capsule 50 mg (3 capsules daily) is already available in Korean market. To improve the patient compliance, a fluconazole tablet 150 mg (once a day administration) was developed recently. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of three doses of fluconazole capsule 50 mg (Diflucan 50 mg, Pfizer Korea Inc., as a reference drug) and a single dose of fluconazole tablet 150 mg (Plunazol 150 mg, Daewoong Pharm. Co., Korea) according to the guidelines of the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). The bioequivalence for three capsules of Diflucan 50 mg and a single tablet of Plunazol 150 mg was investigated in twenty-four healthy male volunteers under a randomized 2${\times}$2 crossover trial design. The average age of twenty-four volunteers was 24.78${\pm}$3.27 year-old, average height was 175.56${\pm}$5.45 cm and average weight was 67.24${\pm}$6.86 kg. After three capsules of Diflucan 50 mg or a single tablet of Plunazol 150 mg were orally administered, blood was taken at predetermined time intervals and the plasma concentrations of fluconazole in plasma were determined using LC-MS-MS. The 90% confidence intervals for the main parameters of statistical results after logarithmic transformation were AUCt 0.9272-1.0084 and Cmax 0.8423-0.9544 respectively, which are in the range of log 0.8 to log 1.25 and the statistical results of additional parameters (AUClast, t1/2 and MRT) were also in the 90% confidence interval that is in the range of log 0.8 to log 1.25. Therefore, the results of this study confirm the bioequivalence of three capsules of Diflucan 50 mg to one tablet of Plunazol 150 mg.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.139-150
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• 2010

In recent years, more generic drug products became available. The current regulation for assessing the bioequivalence of two drug formulations is based on the concept of average bioequivalence. This approach has been indicated to be insufficient for assessing switchability between two drug formulations and US FDA has adopted individual bioequivalence as one of the bioequivalence criterion since 2001. The US FDA recommends that individual bioequivalence be assessed based on $2\;{\times}\;4$ crossover design, while a $2\;{\times}\;3$ crossover design may be used as an alternative design to reduce the length and cost of the study. In this paper, a statistical procedure for assessment of individual bioequivalence under $3\;{\times}\;2$ crossover designs is proposed and some statistical points are discussed with $2\;{\times}\;3$ crossover design and $2\;{\times}\;3$ extra-reference design through simulation studies.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.423-428
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• 1998

Aceclofenac is an orally effective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent of the phenylacetic acid derivative. Bioequivalence study of two aceclofenac preparations, the test drug (Senafe $n_{R}$: Daewon Phar-maceutical Company) and the reference drug (Airta $l_{R}$: Daewoong Pharmaceutical Company), was conducted according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Sixteen healthy male volunteers, 24$\pm$4 years old and 63.9$\pm$6.9 kg of body weight in average, were divided randomly into two groups and administered the drug orally at the dose of 100 mg as aceclofenac in a 2$\times$2 crossover study. Plasma concentrations of aceclofenac were monitored by HPLC method for 12 hr after administration. AU $Co_{-12h}$ (area under the plasma concentration-time curve from initial to 12 hr) was calculated by the linear trapezoidal method. $C_{max}$ (maximum plasma drug concentration) and $T_{max}$ (time to reach $C_{msx}$) were compiled directly from the plasma drug concentration-time data. Student's t-test indicated no significant differences between the formulations in these parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there are no differences in AU $Co_{12h}$, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$ between the formulations. The apparent differences between the formulations were far less than 20% (e.g., 0.25, 0.01 and 7.32 for AU $Co_{-12h}$, $C_{max}$. and $T_{max}$, respectively). Minimum detectable differences (%) between the formulations at $\alpha$=0.05 and 1-$\beta$=0.8 were less than 20% (e.g., 14.65, 12.47 and 15.46 for AU $Co_{-l2h}$, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$, respectively). The 90% confidence intervals for these parameters were also within $\pm$ 20% (e.g.,-10.19~10.68, -8.87~8.89 and -3.69~ 18.33 for AU $Co_{-12h}$, $C_{msx}$ and $T_{max}$, respectively). These results satisfy the bioequivalence criteria of KFDA guidelines, indicating that two formulations of aceclofenac are bioequivalent.quivalent.ivalent.ent.t.ent.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.255-260
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of the test (Daewoo Hydrocortisone 10 mg, Daewoo Pharm. Co., Busan, Korea) and reference (Jenapharm Hydrocortisone 10 mg, JayTech Biogen, Seoul, Korea) hydrocortisone tablets. Twenty-four healthy male Korean volunteers were divided into two groups with a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over design. In order to suppress the endogenous cortisol secretion, a single oral dose of Dexamethasone (4 mg) was administered 10 hr prior to hydrocortisone administration. Blood samples were withdrawn for 10 hr at the predetermined intervals after a single oral dose of hydrocortisone (20 mg). The serum concentration of hydrocortisone was analyzed by HPLC/UV using a column switching method after liquid-liquid extraction process. The pharmacokinetic parameters ($AUC_{0{\sim}10hr}$, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$) of the test and reference hydrocortisone tablets were determined while the secretion of endogenous cortisol was being suppressed. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the test tablet were not statistically different from those of the reference tablet at ex value was 0.05. The 90% confidence intervals for the average ratio (test/reference) of $AUC_{0{\sim}10hr}$ and $C_{max}$ were within the Korea Food and Drug Administration acceptance range of 0.80-1.25 ($0.89{\sim}0.99$ and $0.86{\sim}0.99$ for $AUC_{0{\sim}10hr}$ and $C_{max}$, respectively). Therefore it was concluded that the test tablet, Daewoo Hydrocortisone tablet was bioequivalent to the reference tablet, Jenapharm Hydrocortisone tablet.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.296-302
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• 1998

The bioequivalence of two cyclosporin A products was evaluated in 26 normal male volunteers (age 25 ~33 yr, body weight 56~84 kg) following single oral administration. Test product was a hard capsule containing the granule of cyclosporin A (Chong Kun Dang Corp., Korea) and reference product, Sandimmun", was a soft capsule containing surfactant, oil, alcohol and cyclosporin A (Sandoz, Swiss). Both products contain 100 mg of cyclosporin A. Four capsules of the test and the reference product were administered to the volunteers, respectively, by randomized two period cross-over study (2$\times$2 Latin square method). Average drug concentrations at each sampling time and pharmacokinetic parameters were not significantly different between two products (p>0.05); the area under the concentration-time curve to last sampling time (24 hr) (AU $Co_{24}$) (5034.8$\pm$ 1760.6 vs 4635.4$\pm$ 1158.9 ng . h/ml), maximum plasma concentration ( $C_{max}$) (1002.7$\pm$353.1 vs 980. 4$\pm$ 171.7 ng/71), and mean residence time (MRT) (6.16$\pm$0.81 vs 5.64$\pm$0.50 h). The differences of mean AUC 7-,4,7~, T_ and MRT between the two products (7.93,2.22,16 and 8.39%, respectively) were less than 20% given as a guideline. The power (1-$\beta$) and treatment difference ($\Delta$) for AU $Co_{24}$, $C_{max}$ and MRT were more than 0.8 and less than 0.2, respectively. Although $T_{max}$ of the two products was significantly different each other (p<0.05), $T_{max}$ might be an insignificant parameter because cyclosporin A generally requires long-term administration. From these results, the two products are bioequivalent.alent.t.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 2002

A rapid, selective and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of terazocin in human plasma. Terazocin plus the internal standard, prazocin hydrochloride, were extracted from alkalified plasma with tert-butylmethyl ether, back-extracted into 0.05% phosphoric acid. Fifty ${\mu}l-portions$ of extract were injected onto a octadecylsilane column and eluted with a mixture of acetonitrile, water and triethylamine (30 : 70 : 0.1 v/v, adjusted to pH 5.0 with dilute phosphoric acid) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The fluorescence intensity of column eluents was monitored at excitation wavelength of 250 nm and emission wavelength of 370 nm. No interference peaks were observed. The practical limit of quantitation was 5 ng/ml for terazocin. The average intraday and interday coefficients of variation were 4.15 and 3.54%, respectively. Also intraday and interday precisions over the range $5{\sim}60\;ng/ml$ were $0.49{\sim}2.92\;and\;0.38{\sim}5.12%$, respectively. The bioequivalence of two terazosin tablets, the $Hytrine^{\circledR}$ (Il Yang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) and the $Teratonin^{\circledR}$ (Sam-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), was evaluated according to the guideline of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Sixteen healthy male volunteers $(24.6{\pm}2.0\;years\;old)$ were divided into two groups and a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over study was employed. After one tablet containing 2 mg of terazosin was orally administered, blood was taken at predetermined time intervals and the concentration of terazosin in plasma was determined with a HPLC method using spectrofluorometric detector. AUC was calculated by the linear trapezoidal method. $C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ were compiled from the plasma drug concentration-time data. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized for the statistical analysis of the parameters. The results showed that the differences in $AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ between the two preparations were 0.21 %, 5.53% and 8.82%, respectively. The powers $(1-{\beta})\;for\;AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ were >99%, 97.49%, and 33.26%, respectively. Minimum detectable differences $({\Delta},\;%)\;at\;{\alpha}=0.1\;and\;1-{\beta}=0.8$ and the 90% confidence intervals were all less than ${\pm}20%$ except for $T_{max}.\;AUC_t\;and\;C_{max}$ met the criteria of KDFA for bioequivalence, indicating that $Teratonin^{circledR}$ tablets are bioequivalent to $Hytrine^{circledR}$ tablets.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.291-297
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• 2001

The bioequivalence of two triflusal products was evaluated with 20 healthy volunteers following single oral dose according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Trisa $l^{R}$ capsule (Whanin Pharm. Corp., Korea) and Disgre $n^{R}$ capsule (Myung-In Pharm. Corp., Korea) were used as test product and reference product, respectively. Both products contain 300 mg of trifusal. One capsule of test product or reference product was orally administered to the volunteers, respectively, by randomized two period crossover study (2$\times$2 Latin square method). Blood samples were taken at predetermined time intervals for 4 hours and the determination of trifusal was accomplished using semi-microbore HPLC equipped with automated column switching system. The analytical method with HPLC was validated according to the Bioanalytic Method Validation guideline by F7A prior to determining the plasma samples. The pharmacokinetic parameters (AU $C_{0-4h}$ $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$) were calculated and ANOVA test was utilized for statistical analysis of parameters. As a result of the assay validation, the limit of quantification of trifusal in human plasma by current assay procedure was 50 ng/ml using 500 $\mu$l of plasma. The accuracy of the assay was from 97.76% to 116.51% while the intra-day and inter-day coefficient of variation of the same concentration range was less than 15%. Average drug concentration at the designated time intervals and pharmacokinetic parameters calculated were not significantly different between two products (p>0.05). The difference of mean AU $C_{olongrightarrow4hr}$, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$ between the two products (2.92, 4.39, and -2.44%, respectively) were less than 20%. The power (1-$\beta$) and treatment difference ($\Delta$) for AU $C_{olongrightarrow4hr}$ and $C_{max}$ were more than 0.8 and less than 0.2, respectively. Although the power for $T_{max}$ was under 0.8, $T_{max}$ of the two products was not significantly different from each other (p>0.05). These results satisfied the criteria of KFDA guideline for bioequivalence, indicating the two products of triflusal were bioequivalent.quivalent.ent.ent.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.283-288
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• 1998

Lovastatin, one of the potent cholesterol-lowering agents, is an inactive lactone prodrug which is metabolized to its active open acid, lovastatin acid (LVA). Bioequivalence study of two lovastatin preparations, the test drug ($Mevacor^{\circledR}$: Chungwae Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) and the reference drug ($Lovaload^{\circledR}$: Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), was conducted according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Fourteen healthy male volunteers, $23.9{\pm}3.9$ years old and $67.6{\pm}8.0$ kg of body weight in average, were divided randomly into two groups and administered the drug orally at the dose of 160 mg as lovastatin in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study. Plasma concentrations of lovastatin acid were analysed by HPLC method for 12 hr after administration. The extent of bioavailability was obtained from the plasma concentration-time profiles of total lovastatin acid after alkaline hydrolysis of the plasma samples. By alkaline hydrolysis, trace amounts of unmetabolized lovastatin were converted to lovastatin acid. The $AUC_{0-12hr}$ was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. The $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$ were compiled directly from the plasma drug concentration-time data. Student's t-test indicated no significant differences between the formulations in these parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were no differences in AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$ between the formulations. The apparent differences between the formulations were far less than 20% (e.g., 7.07, 5.77 and 1.18% for AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$, respectively). Minimum detectable differences(%) between the formulations at ${\alpha}=0.05$ and $1-{\beta}=0.8$ were less than 20% (e.g., 17.2, 15.1, and 15.9% for AUC, Cmax, and Tmax, respectively). The 90% confidence intervals for these parameters were also within ${\pm}20%$ (e.g.. $-5.20{\sim}19.3$, $-5.00{\sim}16.5$, and $-10.2{\sim}12.5%$ for AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$, respectively). These results satisfied the bioequivalence criteria of KFDA guidelines, indicating that the two formulations of lovastatin were bioequivalent.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.241-245
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• 1999

Bioequivalence study of two cefpodoxime preparations, the test drug ($Banan^{\circledR}$: Hanil Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) and the reference drug ($Podox^{\circledR}$: Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), was conducted according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Sixteen healthy male volunteers, $23.8{\pm}2.13$ years old and $63.34{\pm}4.84kg$ of body weight in average, were divided randomly into two groups and administered the drug orally at the dose of 200 mg as cefpodoxime proxetil in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study. Plasma concentrations of cefpodoxime were analysed by HPLC method for 12 hr after administration. The $AUC_{0-12hr}$ was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. The $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$ were compiled directly from the plasma drug concentration-time data. Student's t-test indicated no significant differences between the formulations in these parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were no differences in AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$ between the formulations. The apparent differences between the formulations were far less than 20% (e.g., 4.31, 1.99 and 4.30% for AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$, respectively). Minimum detectable differences (%) between the formulations at ${\alpha}=\;0.05$ and $1-{\beta}=\;0.8$ were less than 20% (e.g., 13.89, 13.88, and 16.97% for AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$, respectively). The 90% confidence intervals for these parameters were also within ${\times}20%$ (e.g., $-5,58{\sim}14.20$, $-7.89{\sim}11.88$, and $-7.78{\sim}16.38%$ for AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$, respectively). These results satisfied the bioequivalence criteria of KFDA guidelines, indicating that the two formulations of cefpodoxime were bioequivalent.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.541-548
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• 2000

Various statistical methods for assessment of equivalence in average bioavailabilities have been developed under the assumption that the intra-subject variabilities for the test and reference formulations are the same. Without the assumption, assessing the equivalence in average bioavailabilites does not imply that the two formulations are therapeutically equivalent and exchangeable. The most commonly used test procedure for equality of variabilites in 2$\times$2 crossover experiment is the so called Pitman-Morgan's adjusted F test based on the model without carryover effects (Chow and Liu(1992)). In this paper, a Bayesian method based on the Intrinsic Bayes Factor is proposed, which can be applied to the model with carryover effects.