A biopharmaceutics drug classification scheme for correlating in vitro drug product dissolution and in vivo bioavailability is proposed based on recognizing that drug dissolution and gastrointestinal permeability are the fundamental parameters controlling rate and extent of drug absorption. This analysis uses a transport model and human permeability results for estimating in vivo drug absorption to illustrate the primary importance of solubility and permeability on drug absorption. The fundamental parameters which define oral drug absorption in humans resulting from this analysis are discussed and used as a basis for this classification scheme. These Biopharmaceutic Drug Classes are defined as: Case 1. High solubility-high permeability drugs, Case 2. Low solubility-high permeability drugs, Case 3. High solubility-low permeability drugs, and Case 4. Low solubility-low permeability drugs. Based on this classification scheme, suggestions are made for setting standards for in vitro drug dissolution testing methodology which will correlate with the in vivo process. This methodology must be based on the physiological and physical chemical properties controlling drug absorption. This analysis points out conditions under which no in vitro-in vivo correlation may be expected e.g. rapidly dissolving low permeability drugs. Furthermore, it is suggested for example that for very rapidly dissolving high solubility drugs, e.g. 85% dissolution in less than 15 minutes, a simple one point dissolution test, is all that may be needed to insure bioavailability. For slowly dissolving drugs a dissolution profile is required with multiple time points in systems which would include low pH, physiological pH, and surfactants and the in vitro conditions should mimic the in vivo processes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The purpose of this study is to provisionally classify, based on the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS), drugs in immediate-release dosage forms that appear on the World Health Organization (WHO) Essential Drug List. The classification in this report is based on the aqueous solubility of the drugs reported in commonly available reference literature and a correlation of human intestinal membrane permeability for a set of 29 reference drugs with their calculated partition coefficients. The WHO Essential Drug List consists of a total of 325 medicines and 260 drugs, of which 123 are oral drugs in immediate-release (IR) products. Drugs with dose numbers less than or equal to unity [Do = (maximum dose strength/250 mL)/solubility < or = 1] are defined as high-solubility drugs. Drug solubility for the uncharged, lowest-solubility form reported in the Merck Index or USP was used. Of the 123 WHO oral drugs in immediate-release dosage forms, 67% (82) were determined to be high-solubility drugs. The classification of permeability is based on correlations of human intestinal permeability of 29 reference drugs with the estimated log P or CLogP lipophilicity values. Metoprolol was chosen as the reference compound for permeability and log P or CLogP. Log P and CLogP were linearly correlated (r2 = 0.78) for 104 drugs. A total of 53 (43.1%) and 62 (50.4%) drugs on the WHO list exhibited log P and CLogP estimates, respectively, that were greater than or equal to the corresponding metoprolol value and are classified as high-permeability drugs. The percentages of the drugs in immediate-release dosage forms that were classified as BCS Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, and Class 4 drugs using dose number and log Pwere as follows: 23.6% in Class 1, 17.1% in Class 2, 31.7% in Class 3, and 10.6% in Class 4. The remaining 17.1% of the drugs could not be classified because of the inability to calculate log P values because of missing fragments. The corresponding percentages in the various BCS classes with dose number and CLogP criteria were similar: 28.5% in Class 1, 19.5% in Class 2, 35.0% in Class 3, and 9.8% in Class 4. The remaining 7.3% of the drugs could not be classified since CLogP could not be calculated. These results suggest that a satisfactory bioequivalence (BE) test for more than 55% of the high-solubility Class 1 and Class 3 drug products on the WHO Essential Drug List may be based on an in vitro dissolution test. The use of more easily implemented, routinely monitored, and reliable in vitro dissolution tests can ensure the clinical performance of drug products that appear on the WHO Essential Medicines List.