Comparative study of skin permeation profiles between brand and generic tulobuterol patches.

Tulobuterol patches are long-acting bronchodilators for percutaneous absorption including the β(2)-adrenoreceptor agonist tulobuterol, as a main ingredient, used for long-term management of pediatric asthma. Since patients who have pediatric asthma often also have atopic dermatitis in which the skin barrier is impaired, we compared the skin penetration profiles of the brand and generic patches using a skin barrier-impaired rat model. Skin penetration was significantly (p<0.001) higher in the generic patches compared with the brand patch, suggesting that it is important to understand the pharmaceutical properties of available products by giving careful consideration not only to the patient's asthma control but also to their skin condition before using tulobuterol patches.