Bioequivalence study of Donepezil hydrochloride in healthy Korean volunteers.

Donepezil is a centrally acting, reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that is widely used for treating Alzheimer's disease. This study aimed to compare the pharmacokinetics of Bastia®, a test tablet formulation of donepezil hydrochloride 10 mg, with those of Aricept®, the reference tablet formulation of donepezil hydrochloride 10 mg, in healthy Korean male volunteers. A randomized, single-dose, two-way crossover study was conducted in 32 subjects. Subjects received a single dose of either test or reference compound and the alternate drug after a 4-week washout period. Serial blood samples for pharmacokinetic analysis were collected prior to dosing and periodically for 288 h after dosing for measurement of the plasma concentrations of donepezil. A non-compartmental method was used to estimate the pharmacokinetic parameters. The maximum concentration (C_max) and the area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to the time of the last quantifiable concentration (AUC_288h) for the two formulations were compared to evaluate bioequivalence. The C_max of the test and reference drugs were 27.58±7.46 and 26.35±6.51 μg/L (mean±SD), respectively, while AUC_288h was 1080.14±229.77 and 1043.07±242.28 μg·h/L (mean±SD), respectively. The geometric mean ratios (90% confidence interval) of the Cmax and AUC288h of the two tablets were 1.043 (0.990-1.099) and 1.039 (1.013-1.065). In conclusion, the newly formulated tablet of donepezil hydrochloride 10 mg is bioequivalent to the currently marketed 10 mg tablet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]