Pharmacodynamic effects of voglibose administered alone, administered with metformin, and administered with metformin in a fixed-dose combination in healthy Korean subjects .

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed at exploring the effects of metformin on the pharmacodynamics of voglibose, while investigating the pharmacodynamics between a fixed-dose combination (FDC) of voglibose/metformin and coadministered doses of voglibose and metformin tablets in healthy Korean subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized, open-label, 2×3×3 crossover study with a 9-day washout period was conducted in 30 healthy subjects. All subjects received orally administered voglibose alone, individual voglibose and metformin tablets, or FDC 3 times daily for 5 days. Oral sucrose was administered on day -1 (pretreatment) and at 10 minutes after the morning dose of the study drug on day 5 of each period. Plasma glucose and serum insulin were measured over the course of 2 hours following sucrose loading. RESULTS: 21 subjects completed the study. The geometric mean ratios (GMR) of ΔCmax and the AUC of glucose for voglibose plus metformin vs. voglibose alone were 0.995 (90% CI, 0.800 - 1.237) and 0.969 (90% CI, 0.949 - 0.990), respectively; the GMRs for individual tablets vs. FDC were 1.118 (90% CI, 0.930 - 1.344) and 1.010 (90% CI, 0.974 - 1.048), respectively. A relatively smaller number of subjects experienced adverse events when receiving voglibose alone compared to those administered FDC or metformin and voglibose. There were no significant differences in adverse events between individual voglibose and metformin tablets and FDC. CONCLUSION: Coadministered metformin did not have statistically or clinically significant effects on the pharmacodynamics of voglibose in healthy subjects. Glucose levels following sucrose loading seem not to be clinically different between FDC and individual tablets of voglibose and metformin.
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