Gliclazide modified release: from once-daily administration to 24-hour blood glucose control

Although sulfonylureas have been used for more than 40 years, it is only recently that their molecular mechanisms of action have been elucidated. Gliclazide modified release, whose introduction comes soon after the sequencing and cloning of the sulfonylurea receptor, is the first sulfonylurea for which it is possible to detail its action from the moment of oral administration through to its effects on long-term glycemic control. Piecing together these steps for this new agent underlines the rationality of its development and the important differences from other members of the sulfonylurea class. Employing an innovative pharmaceutical form based on a hydrophilic matrix to deliver this short-acting sulfonylurea, gliclazide modified release is associated with an unsurpassed efficacy:acceptability ratio, with the potential additional advantages inherent in reduced dosage and once-daily administration.