Pharmacokinetics, Bioequivalence, and Safety Studies of Pantoprazole Sodium Enteric‐Coated Tablets in Healthy Subjects

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the bioequivalence of 2 pantoprazole sodium enteric‐coated tablet formulations, a generic formulation and a branded formulation, and to investigate their pharmacokinetic and safety profiles. The study was designed as a single‐center, randomized, open‐label, single‐dose, dual‐period, and 2‐sequence crossover trial, and was divided into fasting and postprandial human bioequivalence trials. In the first trial, 36 subjects were fasted overnight before they were given generic or branded tablets (during 2 separate administration periods). Separately, 42 subjects were provided a high‐fat meal 1 hour before the drugs were administered. Blood specimens of each subject were obtained up to 24 hours after drug administration. No significant differences were observed between the pharmacokinetic profiles of the generic and branded pantoprazole sodium enteric‐coated tablets. Bioequivalence was evaluated using 90% confidence intervals for the ratio of test/reference log area under the concentration‐time curve over 24 hours, log area under the concentration‐time curve to infinity (AUC 0‐∞ ), and log peak concentration (C max ). The 90% confidence intervals of the least squares geometric mean ratio of C max , area under the concentration‐time curve from time zero to the last measurable concentration (AUC 0‐t ), and AUC 0‐∞ of 36 subjects in the fasting trial and of 40 of 41 subjects in the postprandial trial (C max [41], AUC 0‐t [41], and AUC 0‐∞ [40]) were in accordance with the bioequivalence criteria. No severe adverse effects were detected. The generic and branded pantoprazole sodium enteric‐coated tablets were considered bioequivalent with similar safety profiles.