Abstract
Background: Voglibose is an ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitor. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pharmacodynamic characteristics of voglibose for determining the appropriate study design and parameters for a pharmacodynamic equivalence study of voglibose. Methods: This study consisted of two studies. The single dose study had an open and single sequence design. Nineteen subjects received placebo and then one tablet of voglibose on two consecutive days with sucrose. The multiple dose study was performed with the similar design, except that it was a multiple dose of the single dose study. Nine subjects who showed an effective response in the single dose study received placebo three times and then voglibose 4 times on two consecutive days. Serial blood samples for pharmacodynamic parameters were taken until 180 mins after each administration. The baseline adjusted maximum serum glucose level ($G_{max}$) and area under the serum glucose level-time profiles were determined and compared. Results: In the single dose study, the difference in $G_{max}$ was -$10.6{\pm}28.7$ mg/dL. The area under the serum glucose concentration-time curve ($AUGC_{0-1h}$) of placebo and voglibose were $7825.0{\pm}1145.3mg{\cdot}min/dL$, $7907.5{\pm}917.2mg{\cdot}min/dL$, respectively. In the multiple dose study, the difference in $G_{max}$ was $46.6{\pm}16.1$ mg/dL. The $AUGC_{0-1h}$ of placebo and voglibose were $8138.6{\pm}721.9mg{\cdot}min/dL$ and $6499.7{\pm}447.2mg{\cdot}min/dL$, respectively. The $G_{max}$ and $AUGC_{0-1h}$ of the multiple dose study was significantly different between placebo and voglibose in paired t-test. Conclusion: The differences in $G_{max}$ and $AUGC_{0-1h}$ are suitable for pharmacodynamic parameters to evaluate bioequivalence of voglibose.
