Abstract

A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF BRANDED AND GENERIC PRODUCTS OF METFORMIN TABLETS

B. Lakshmi Satya and K. P. R. Chowdary*

Abstract

Metformin is a widely prescribed oral anti diabetic drug and is official in I.P 2014.Several brands of metformin tablets and generic metformin tablets are available in the market leading to a confusion of their quality and prices. The objective of the present study is to make a comparative evaluation of three metformin drug products (two branded, and one generic). The branded and generic products of metformin tablets procured from local pharmacies were evaluated for various physical parameters and in vitro dissolution rate as per official methods. The in vitro dissolution performance of the branded and generic products of metformin tablets is similar. No significant differences were observed in the dissolution parameters of the branded and generic products. The differences observed in the dissolution characteristics of the three products tested as well as the trail variability are not significant (P > 0.05). All the three products of metformin tablets tested fulfilled the official (IP 2014) dissolution rate test specification of NLT 70% in 45 min.

Keywords: Metformin Tablets, Branded and Generic Products, Dissolution Rate, Comparative Study.