Pharmacokinetics and Bioequivalence Study of Two Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Tablets in Chinese Healthy Volunteers Under Fasting and Fed Conditions: A Randomized, Open-Label, Two-Formulation, Two-Sequence, Two-Period, Single-Dose Crossover Study.

BackgroundCiprofloxacin is a broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic which is active against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The study mainly aimed to determine the bioequivalence of two branded ciprofloxacin hydrochloride tablets (250 mg) under the fasting and fed conditions.MethodsThe study was carried out in 48 healthy Chinese subjects under fasting and fed conditions with a randomized, open-label, two-formulation, two-sequence, two-period, single-dose crossover design. In each period of the study, the subjects were assigned to receive a single oral dose of 250 mg of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride. Blood samples were collected from an hour before dosing to 36 h after administration with 16 time points in total. The bioequivalence analysis was performed after ln-transformation of the ciprofloxacin pharmacokinetic parameters including maximum concentration (Cmax), area under the plasma concentration–time curve from time 0 to time t (AUC0-t), area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time 0 to infinity (AUC0-∞). Two formulations are considered bioequivalent if the 90% confidence intervals (CIs) for the test/reference geometric mean ratios (GMRs) for the ln-transformed pharmacokinetic parameters fall within the standard acceptance range of 80% – 125%. ResultsIn total of 48 subjects were enrolled in the fasting and fed studies, and one of the subjects was excluded before the administration. In the fasting study, the 90% CIs for the test/reference GMRs of the ln-transformed data for Cmax, AUC0–t, and AUC0–∞ were 85.41% to 100.97%, 95.40% to 100.27%, and 95.48% to 100.30%, respectively. For the fed study, the 90% CIs for the test/reference GMRs of the ln-transformed data for Cmax, AUC0–t, and AUC0–∞ were 90.15% to 113.75%, 99.10% to 103.77% and 99.11% to 103.80%, respectively. A total of 8 of 47 subjects experienced AEs in the fasting and fed studies.ConclusionsIn the study, the generic (test) product of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride 250 mg was bioequivalent to the innovator (reference) product after a single oral dose administration under the fasting and fed conditions. Both two brands of ciprofloxacin tablets were safe and well tolerated.Trial registrationThe clinical trial was registered at Center for the Drug Evaluation of the National Medical Products Administration (registration number: CTR20171152; date of registration：September 25, 2017; http://www.chinadrugtrials.org.cn/clinicaltrials.searchlistdetail.dhtml).