ABSORPTION OF ORAL LORNOXICAM IN HEALTHY-VOLUNTEERS USING A GRANULAR FORMULATION IN COMPARISON WITH STANDARD TABLETS

The bioavailability of lornoxicam (CAS 70374-39-9), a novel highly pot ent anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent, was studied in healthy volu nteers after single doses of a new oral formulation (8 mg granules) in comparison to tablets (8 mg). Eighteen healthy volunteers (6 males an d 12 females) with a mean age of 29.4 were given a single 8 mg dose of each formulation in an open, cross-over study, with randomised sequen ces. Lornoxicam plasma levels were determined by an HPLC method. C-max , AUC(0-infinity) and t(1/2 beta) values were similar for both the gra nules and tablets, but t(max) and lag time values after lornoxicam gra nules were significantly shorter than after the tablets. During the st udy, no side-effects were noted with either of the formulations studie d. Therefore this study showed that lornoxicam granular formulation ha d a faster absorption than tablets even though the two formulations ca n be considered bioequivalent.