Formulation and evaluation of Buccal Tablet of Venlafaxine HCl

Venlafaxine Hydrochloride is an oral antidepressant agent of the Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor class. Venlafaxine Hydrochloride has been studied for the treatment of panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the treatment of hot flashes in patients who cannot or do not want to take hormone replacement therapy. The dose of Venlafaxine hydrochloride ranges from 75 to 225 mg three times a day and it undergoes extensive first pass metabolism hence it has only 45% bioavaibility. The short half life of the drug 5 hr indicates the need for modified release dosage form. Venlafaxine HCl was chosen as model drug with an aim to developed mucoadhesive buccal tablet that minimize dose related side effects and reducing the dosing frequency of drug and finally improve the bioavaibility.