Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva

Because Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva is a generic medicine and is bioequivalent to the reference medicine, its benefits and risks are taken as being the same as the reference medicine’s.

Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva is used in adults who have essential hypertension (high blood pressure) that is not adequately controlled by irbesartan or hydrochlorothiazide alone. ‘Essential’ means that the hypertension has no obvious cause.

The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription.

Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva is taken by mouth. The dose of Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva to be used depends on the dose of irbesartan or hydrochlorothiazide that the patient was taking before. Doses higher than 300 mg irbesartan and 25 mg hydrochlorothiazide once a day are not recommended. Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva may be added to other treatments for hypertension.

Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva contains two active substances, irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide.

Irbesartan is an ‘angiotensin-II-receptor antagonist’, which means that it blocks the action of a hormone in the body called angiotensin II. Angiotensin II is a powerful vasoconstrictor (a substance that narrows blood vessels). By blocking the receptors to which angiotensin II normally attaches, irbesartan stops the hormone having an effect, allowing the blood vessels to widen.

Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic, which is another type of treatment for hypertension. It works by increasing urine output, reducing the amount of fluid in the blood and lowering the blood pressure.

The combination of the two active substances has an additive effect, reducing the blood pressure more than either medicine alone. By lowering the blood pressure, the risks associated with high blood pressure, such as having a stroke, are reduced.

The European Commission granted a marketing authorisation valid throughout the EU for Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva on 26 November 2009.

For more information about treatment with Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva, read the package leaflet (also part of the EPAR) or contact your doctor or pharmacist.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) concluded that, in accordance with EU requirements, Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva has been shown to have comparable quality and to be bioequivalent to CoAprovel. Therefore, the CHMP’s view was that, as for CoAprovel, the benefit outweighs the identified risk. The Committee recommended that Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva be given marketing authorisation.

Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva is a medicine that contains two active substances, irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide. It is available as tablets (150 mg or 300 mg irbesartan and 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide; and 300 mg irbesartan and 25 mg hydrochlorothiazide).

Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva is a ‘generic medicine’. This means that Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva is similar to a ‘reference medicine’ already authorised in the European Union (EU) called CoAprovel.

Because Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Teva is a generic medicine, studies in people have been limited to tests to determine that it is bioequivalent to the reference medicine, CoAprovel. Two medicines are bioequivalent when they produce the same levels of the active substance in the body.