Aim: To determine the pharmacokinetics of glimepiride, a sulfonylurea antidiabetic agent, after single dose administration in healthy subjects.
Material and methods: Pharmacokinetic data for modeling were extracted from a single-center, randomized, single-dose, fasting state, two-way crossover bioequivalence study on 4 mg glimepiride in 24 healthy subjects.
Results: Plasma concentrations of glimepiride were measured using a validated LC/MS/MS method. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using non-compartmental analysis. Different pharmacokinetic models were tested to evaluate pharmacokinetics of glimepiride. The optimal model was chosen based on Akaike's Information Criteria.
Conclusion: Compartmental analysis demonstrated that oral glimepiride tablets obey one compartment open model with rapid absorption following a first order kinetics and a short half-life.