A randomized, crossover pharmacodynamic study of immediate‐release omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate and delayed‐release lansoprazole in healthy adult volunteers

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) effectively block gastric acid secretion and are the treatment of choice for heartburn. PPIs differ, however, in onset of action and bioavailability. In this single‐center, open‐label, three‐way crossover study, onset of action of immediate‐release omeprazole 20 mg/sodium bicarbonate 1100 mg (IR‐OME) and delayed‐release (DR) lansoprazole 15 mg was evaluated in 63 healthy fasting adults. Subjects were randomized to once daily IR‐OME, or DR‐lansoprazole, or no treatment for 7 days. The primary efficacy endpoint was the earliest time where a statistically significant difference was observed between IR‐OME and DR‐lansoprazole in median intragastric pH scores for three consecutive 5‐min intervals on day 7. Secondary endpoints compared effects of active treatments on days 1 and 7 (e.g., time to sustained inhibition, percentage of time with pH >4). A significant difference in median intragastric pH favoring IR‐OME was observed on day 7 starting at the 10‐ to 15‐min interval postdosing (P = 0.024) and sustaining through the 115‐ to 120‐min interval (P = 0.017). On day 1, IR‐OME achieved sustained inhibition of intragastric acidity significantly faster than DR‐lansoprazole. IR‐OME maintained pH >4 significantly longer than DR‐lansoprazole over a 24‐h period (P = 0.007) on day 7. Overall, results of this study demonstrate IR‐OME is safe and well tolerated and that treatment with IR‐OME results in significantly faster onset of action and better gastric acid suppression at steady state than DR‐lansoprazole.