Objectives

After completing this module you should be able to:

• Define the bioavailability and the bioequivalence of drug products.

• Describe the different components of the "first-pass effect" after oral drug administration.

• Determine the absolute bioavailability and the relative bioavailability of oral drug products.

• Calculate the area under the curve using the trapezoidal rule.

• Describe the general principles for designing and evaluating bioavailability and bioequivalence studies.

• Analyze the effect of changing the drug bioavailability on the plasma concentration-time profile after oral drug administration.