Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of indapamide--a new antihypertensive drug

Two formulations of indapamide tablets (2.5 mg) were given as a 5.0 mg dose and the subsequent blood levels were compared to those obtained after administration of a 5.0 mg solution. The study was conducted as a randomized three-way crossover design using healthy male volunteers. The drug was well tolerated by all the subjects involved. The area under the blood concentration versus time curve, extrapolated to infinity was essentially the same for all three formulations (4.2, 4.7, and 4.4 microgram-h/ml). Statistical comparison of the blood levels from the two tablets showed that one tablet had a significantly shorter time of maximum blood concentration (2.3 vs 3.5). Cmax(333ng/ml) and tmax (0.7h) values for the solution were significantly higher than either tablet. The average half-life (beta-phase) for all three formulations was 15 h, while the average systemic clearance was 20 ml/min. Indapamide has a low clearance rate and there was no evidence that the drug undergoes a first-pass effect.