Comparisons of clinical efficacy and safety between the brand- and generic-name fenofibrate in patients with hypertriglyceridemia

Background: Generic-name drugs are chemically equivalent to their brand-name counterparts. However, the clinical efficacy and safety may not be equivalent between the brand-name (Lipanthyl) and generic-name (fenolip) fenofibrate in treating hypertriglyceridemia. The objective of this study was toinvestigate the efficacy and safety of brand- and generic-name fenofibrate in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Methods: A total of 114 consecutive patients from January 2008 to December 2009 diagnosed with hypertriglyceridemia were enrolled in this study, including 57 patients receiving Lipanthyl (200mg/day) and another 57 patients treated with fenolip (200mg/day). Serum cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, glucose, creatinine, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were evaluated before and 3-6 months after the treatment. Results: With regard to clinical efficacy, both drugs were found to significantly decrease the serum levels of TG (297±125 to 165±73mg/dL, p