Pharmacokinetics of a New Orally Disintegrating Tablet Formulation of Aripiprazole 15 mg Administered Without Water in Healthy Middle-aged Korean Subjects

PurposeThe main objective of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetic properties and relative bioavailability of two 15-mg aripiprazole formulations (an orally disintegrating tablet [ODT] as the test drug and a conventional tablet as the reference drug) in healthy middle-aged Korean subjects.MethodsThis study was conducted in a population of healthy middle-aged Korean subjects as a randomized, open-label, single-dose, 2-sequence, 2-period crossover trial. After administration of a single dose of a 15-mg aripiprazole standard tablet with 240 mL water or an aripiprazole 15-mg ODT without water, blood samples were collected at specific time intervals from 0 to 240 hours. Concentrations of aripiprazole in plasma were analyzed by using a LC-MS/MS method of detection. Data on the pharmacokinetic parameters were recorded, and the 90% CIs of the ratios of the geometric means of the parameters were determined from the logarithmically transformed data by using an ANOVA model.FindingsThirty-nine healthy middle-aged Korean subjects were enrolled (mean age, 52.7 years; mean height, 167 cm; mean weight, 67.6 kg); 33 participants completed the study (29 male subjects and 4 female subjects). The 90% CIs of the geometric means ratio (test drug/reference drug) of Cmax, AUC0-last, and AUC0-∞ values were 0.95 to 1.14, 0.98 to 1.09, and 0.97 to 1.08, respectively. All of the subjects who experienced adverse events recovered without sequelae, and no serious adverse events were observed.ImplicationsThe aripiprazole pharmacokinetics was similar for the ODT and standard tablet of 15-mg aripiprazole in these healthy middle-aged Korean subjects. The aripiprazole ODT formulation is therefore expected to offer a convenient alternative for patients who have difficulty swallowing tablets without water. The study was registered at http://cris.nih.go.kr (registration number: KCT0001677).