Drug Release and Stability Study of Innovated Losartan Potassium and Rosuvastatin Calcium Fixed-dose Combination Tablet

Background: Patient adherence to therapy and compliance is always a challenge for care providers in the management of chronic disorders with multiple medications. Objective: Our study focused on formulating concurrently prescribed ARB (Angiotensin Receptor Blocker), i.e., losartan potassium, and a cholesterol-lowering statin derivative, i.e., rosuvastatin calcium, in a fixed-dose combination tablet. Methods: The drugs were selected based on the presence of synergism and variation in solubility characteristics. Trial batches with fixed concentrations of both active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and varying quantities of different excipients were prepared by dry granulation technique and subjected to different quality control tests for tablets. Batch F5 was selected on the basis of in-process quality control data for the development of a drug release protocol. Experimental conditions were optimized. Based on the sink condition, phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) was selected as the dissolution medium. Simultaneous determination of both APIs in samples collected at predetermined time intervals was carried out using the RP-HPLC technique with acetonitrile, methanol, and water (20:25:55 v/v/v) as mobile phase. Results: Complete dissolution of both APIs in the FDC tablet was achieved in 45 min in 900 mL of the selected medium. The in vitro drug release protocol was validated for accuracy and precision without interference with sample analysis. Conclusion: In this study, a validated, accurate, and robust dissolution testing method was developed for the newly formulated FDC tablet.