Bioequivalence evaluation of 320 mg gemifloxacin tablets in healthy volunteers

This study was done to compare the bioavailability of a new tablet formulation of gemifloxacin (gemifloxacin 320 mg/tablet) with that of the reference product (factive 320 mg/tablet). The bioequivalence of a single dose (320 mg) was assessed for gemifloxacin included in the test and reference products by comparing the pharmacokinetic parameters derived from the plasma concentration-time profiles following administration to 24 healthy male volunteers in a balanced, 2-period, 2-sequence, 2-way crossover design. Plasma concentrations of gemifloxacin were analyzed by a validated and sensitive HPLC assay developed in-house. The mean plasma concentration-time profiles are almost superimposable. 18 ANOVAs were performed to compare gemifloxacin plasma levels of the two formulations at each sampling time and there were no statistical differences between the two formulations. The parameters used to measure bioavailability were AUC0-t, AUC0-infinity and Cmax and they were calculated by a model-independent method. The parametric 90% confidence intervals of the mean values for the test/reference ratio were in each case well within the bioequivalence acceptable boundaries of 80-125% for AUCo-t, AUC0-infinity and Cmax. Data obtained in this study prove, by appropriate statistical methods, the essential similarity of plasma levels of gemifloxacin from the test product with those from the reference product suggesting equal clinical efficacy of these two products.