FOR ORAL USE
DESCRIPTION Glipizide is an oral blood-glucose-lowering drug of the sulfonylurea class. The Chemical Abstracts name of glipizide is 1-cyclohexyl-3-[[p-[2-(5methylpyrazinecarboxamido)ethyl] phenyl]sulfonyl]urea. The molecular formula is C21H27N5O4S; the molecular weight is 445.55; the structural formula is shown below:
N HC
3
N
CONHCH2CH2
SO NHCONH 2
Glipizide is a whitish, odorless powder with a pKa of 5.9. It is insoluble in water and alcohols, but soluble in 0.1 N NaOH; it is freely soluble in dimethylformamide. Glipizide extendedrelease tablets are formulated as a once-a-day controlled release tablet for oral use and is designed to deliver 2.5, 5, or 10 mg of glipizide. Inert ingredients in the 2.5 mg, 5 mg and 10 mg formulations are: polyethylene oxide, hypromellose, magnesium stearate, sodium chloride, red ferric oxide, cellulose acetate, polyethylene glycol, Opadry® blue (OY-LS-20921)(2.5 mg tablets), Opadry® white (YS-2-7063)(5 mg and 10 mg tablet) and black ink (S-1-8106). System Components and Performance Glipizide extended-release tablets are similar in appearance to a conventional tablet. It consists, however, of an osmotically active drug core surrounded by a semipermeable membrane. The core itself is divided into two layers: an “active” layer containing the drug, and a “push” layer containing pharmacologically inert (but osmotically active) components. The membrane surrounding the tablet is permeable to water but not to drug or osmotic excipients. As water from the gastrointestinal tract enters the tablet, pressure increases in the osmotic layer and “pushes” against the drug layer, resulting in the release of drug through a small, laser-drilled orifice in the membrane on the drug side of the tablet. Glipizide extended-release tablets are designed to provide a controlled rate of delivery of glipizide into the gastrointestinal lumen which is independent of pH or gastrointestinal motility.