The differences in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of epoetin beta and epoetin alfa have been confirmed in a randomized crossover study on healthy volunteers, in which the terminal elimination half-life of intravenous epoetin beta was found to be 20% longer than that observed with intravenous epoetin alfa; the half-life for epoetin beta was also longer with the subcutaneous route, although the difference did not reach statistical significance (serum concentration after subcutaneous administration appears to be higher for epoetin beta than for epoetin alfa from 48 to 66 hours after dosing, and this reflects delayed drug absorption with epoetin beta compared with epoetin alfa; in addition, epoetin beta seems to induce a greater absolute reticulocyte response than epoetin alfa after subcutaneous administration).
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