Tailored release drug delivery system for rifampicin and isoniazid for enhanced bioavailability of rifampicin.

The front line antitubercular drugs rifampicin (RMP) and isoniazid (INH), when co-administered, face the problem of reduced bioavailability of RMP. Stabilization of RMP in the presence of INH under acidic environment may improve the bioavailability of RMP. In vitro degradation studies showed around 15-25% degradation of RMP under the aforesaid conditions if the ratio of RMP: INH is above 1:0.5.This degradation is reduced to less than 10% when the ratio of RMP: INH is below 1:0.25. Based on these findings, an innovative drug delivery system was designed with the immediate release of RMP and tailored prolonged release of INH. The bilayer tablets prepared with this concept were subjected to relative bioavailability studies in healthy human volunteers in an open label, balanced, randomized, single-dose, cross-over study under fasted state. A validated LC-MS/MS bioanalytical method was employed for estimation of RMP and INH in plasma. Bioavailability studies revealed that C(max) and AUC for RMP increased by 18 and 20%, respectively, confirming the above innovative concept. Even in the case of INH, AUC increased significantly by around 30% and thus time above minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) would also increase, which may result in further improved clinical outcome.