PRODUCT QUALITY AND CUSTOMER PERCEPTION OF PRESSURIZED METERED DOSE INHALER (pMDI) MANUFACTURED IN BANGLADESH

Abdur Rashid*, An-Nurul Masud, Nazrul Islam and Ayman Allahham

This study was aimed to investigate the in-vitro deposition, the market status and the customer’s perception of different pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI) preparations, available in Bangladesh. In order to test the efficiency of pMDI, the in-vitro deposition of locally manufactured salmeterol xinafoate from two brands, considered as product A and product B, was carried out using a Twin-Stage-Impinger (TSI) and was correlated with the customer perception. The market status and customer’s perception has been studied through three different market surveys conducted on patients, (n=50), physicians (n=50) and pharmacy shops (n=50). In all three surveys the usage pattern of salbutamol has been found to be highest among various antiasthmatic drugs and has showed market share of 18.2 %. The manufacturer of this product occupied the highest market share compared with those of others. The in-vitro deposition of salmeterol xinafoate from both products revealed that the fine particle fractions (FPF, the amount of deposited salmeterol xinafoate in the lower airway of lung) of these products were within 32-44% and deposition was observed to be higher for product A compared to product B. Both the market status and efficiency testing results indicated that product A showed superior performance and more efficacy compared to the product B.