Short answer: Repaglinide has a half-life of about 1 hour. Levels peak within 1 hour after a dose. People vary, so treat these as estimates.
Repaglinide is a glinide, a short-acting tablet that makes the pancreas release more insulin around meals. It is used for type 2 diabetes and is taken before each meal. The original brand, Prandin, is listed by FDA as discontinued; generic tablets are sold.
Also known as: Prandin.
Generic repaglinide comes as 0.5 mg, 1 mg and 2 mg tablets.
The FDA repaglinide label approves it, with diet and exercise, to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes; it is not for type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. It is taken within 30 minutes before a meal, 2, 3 or 4 times a day to match meals. The label starts at 0.5 mg before each meal if HbA1c is under 8%, or 1 or 2 mg if it is 8% or higher, with a range of 0.5 to 4 mg per meal and no more than 16 mg a day. If a meal is skipped, the dose for that meal is skipped too.
Low blood sugar is the most common side effect: in trials, mild or moderate low blood sugar occurred in 31% on repaglinide versus 7% on placebo. It must not be taken with gemfibrozil, which raised repaglinide levels about 8-fold; clopidogrel should be avoided (if it cannot be, no more than 4 mg of repaglinide a day), and with cyclosporine the limit is 6 mg a day. It is not used with NPH insulin, after heart-related events were seen with that combination in trials. FDA lists the Prandin brand as discontinued, not for safety or effectiveness reasons.
The FDA repaglinide label says it is completely absorbed, reaches peak levels within 1 hour, and is cleared from the blood with a half-life of about 1 hour, which is why it is taken with each meal. Taking it with food did not change time to peak but lowered peak levels by 20%.
Numbers shown are taken from the source above. Half-life varies from person to person.
How Dose Track handles peptides · Reconstitution calculator · Half-life calculator