A new chronotherapeutic oral drug absorption system for verapamil optimizes blood pressure control in the morning

A novel verapamil chronotherapeutic oral drug absorption system (CODAS-Vera pamil) designed for bedtime dosing and with controlled onset and extended-r elease properties was evaluated in 257 patients with mild-to-moderate essen tial hypertension in an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. After bedtime dosing (9 PM to 11 PM, this delivery system delays drug relea se for 4 to 5 h, and provides the highest concentrations of verapamil betwe en 6 AM and noon. The study results showed that CODAS-verapamil produced it s greatest antihypertensive effect during this morning period (6 AM to 12 n oon) and also provided effective trough diatolic blood pressure reductions at 200, 300, and 400 mg. Significant trough systolic blood pressure reducti ons were achieved only with the 300- and 400-mg doses. The nighttime dosing regimen was not associated with excessive blood pressure (BP) reductions d uring the sleeping hours, when the antihypertensive effect was generally sl ightly less than that of the 24-h mean reduction. The CODAS-verapamil provides enhanced BP reduction during the morning perio d when compared with other time intervals of the 24-h dosing period. (C) 20 01 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.