This Stimuli article provides general information about the test methods that should be employed to ensure the quality and performance of topical and transdermal drug products. The term topical drug products refers to all formulations applied to the skin except transdermal delivery systems or transdermal patches that will be addressed separately.

Summary:Purpose: Concern persists that the criteria used to establish bioequivalence of generic drugs may not adequately guarantee the interchangeability of antiepileptic medications (AEDs), particularly controlled-release (CR) formulations. We examined the utilization of several new parameters, in addition to AUC, peak plasma concentration (C,,,), and time to reach C, , , (Lax), for the assessment of bioequivalence and in vivo performance of CBZ and other CR products. These new parameters may offer additional information for evaluation of CR products that yield a prominent plateau in the plasma timeconcentration curve. They include mean residence time (MRT), C,,/AUC, plateau time or POT (the time span associated with the concentrations within 25% of C, , ), tapical, and Capita, (the arithmetic mean of the POT times and concentrations within 25% of C, , , respectively). Additional parameters for multiple-dose studies include the percentage fluctuation and the flatness of the steady state-concentration curve.Methods: These proposed parameters were used in two recent (single and multiple dose) two-way crossover studies of a new CR product of CBZ (Ten1 400 CR) in comparison with Tegretol CR Divitab.Results: Ten1 400 CR was found to be bioequivalent to Tegretol CR Divitab, by using both the classic and the additional proposed parameters. Both CBZ CR products have similar rates of absorption and similar flatness of their plasma timeconcentration curves as assessed by visual inspection and the proposed parameters.Conclusions: The additional parameters examined may supplement the traditional single-point parameters, C, , , and t , , , for assessment of rate of absorption and the flatness of the concentration curve. Their potential benefit and practical utility was confirmed in these two studies. Absorption-rate assessment is important in light of concentration-related side effects associated with CBZ therapy and the impact of fluctuations and the flatness of the CBZ plasma concentration curve on the drug efficacy and tolerability.

The FDA recently issued a guidance covering practices of scaleup and post approval changes with semisolids (SUPAC-SS). This guidance outlines the steps that must be taken by a company to maintain certification of its semisolid dermatological products after quantitative changes have been made in their compositions and/or after changes have been made in the sourcing of their key ingredients, in their processing, in their batch sizes, and/or after their site of manufacture has been relocated. A key element within the guidance is a release test to be used to determine if the diffusional release of a drug found in a formulation is the same after changes have been made to the formulation as it was prior to implementing the changes. The AAPS-FDA sponsored workshop was set up to explore this qualifying test. The stated aims of the workshop were: a) to illustrate the methodology and techniques of in vitro release testing, b) to show the sensitivity of in vitro release with respect to manufacturing variables and to variations in components and composition (of specific formulations), c) to recognize in vitro release testing as a useful procedure for SUPAC documentation, d) to highlight and evaluate other applications of in vitro release testing, e) to explore the degree to which in vitro release testing and bioavailability may be related, and f) to evaluate the role of in vitro release testing of topical dosage forms as a tool to improve product quality.

Tazobactam is a new derivative of penicillinic acid sulfone, which functions as an irreversible inhibitor of many beta-lactamases. The disposition of tazobactam M1 metabolite after intravenous (i.v.) infusion of 3 g of piperacillin/0.375 g of tazobactam was evaluated in 26 subjects with various degrees of renal impairment. Participants in the study were 18 subjects with creatinine clearances (ClCR) ranging from 7.4-41.8 mL/min, 4 subjects maintained on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), and 4 subjects undergoing chronic hemodialysis (HD). The pharmacokinetic parameters of piperacillin and tazobactam were evaluated and were similar to previous reports. Tazobactam M1 metabolite maximum plasma concentration increased as renal function declined. The terminal elimination half-life and area under the plasma concentration-time curve of the tazobactam M1 metabolite increased as renal function declined. The mean rate of recovery of the tazobactam M1 metabolite in hemodialysate during a 3- to 4.2-hour HD session 1 hour after the i.v. infusion of piperacillin/tazobactam was 25.3%. However, when HD was performed at 36-48 hours after the i.v. infusion, 57.6% of the tazobactam dose was recovered as M1 metabolite, suggesting further conversion of tazobactam to M1 metabolite. Peritoneal dialysis removed 15.8% (n = 2) of the tazobactam dose as the M1 metabolite. Using a dose of 3 g of piperacillin/0.375 g of tazobactam, the predicted maximum steady-state plasma concentrations of the tazobactam M1 metabolite are 14.6 micrograms/mL, 34.8 micrograms/mL, and 48.8 micrograms/mL for subjects with ClCR 20-40 mL/min (every 6 hour dosing), ClCR < 20 mL/min (every 8 hour dosing), and on CAPD (every 12 hour dosing), respectively.

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