GLUCOBAY

Country: Australia

Language: English

Source: Department of Health (Therapeutic Goods Administration)

Active ingredient:

Acarbose

Available from:

Bayer Australia Ltd

Class:

Medicine Registered

Patient Information leaflet

GLUCOBAY
® 
CMI 

1 
GLUCOBAY
® 
(GLUE·CO·BAY)

_acarbose_ 

CONSUMER MEDICINE INFORMATION 

WHAT IS IN THIS 
LEAFLET 
This leaflet answers some common 
questions about Glucobay. It does 
not contain all the available 
information.  It does not take the 
place of talking to your doctor or 
pharmacist.    

All medicines have risks and 
benefits. Your doctor has weighed 
the risks of you taking Glucobay 
against the benefits they expect it 
will have for you. 

As Glucobay is a prescription 
medicine, it should only be used 
under medical supervision. 

IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT 
TAKING THIS MEDICINE, ASK YOUR 
DOCTOR OR PHARMACIST. 

KEEP THIS LEAFLET WITH THE 
MEDICINE. 
You may need to read it again.

WHAT GLUCOBAY IS 
USED FOR 
Glucobay tablets contain the active 
drug acarbose.  They are used for 
the treatment of diabetes . 

Glucobay helps to control your 
blood sugar levels in conjunction 
with diet, exercise, weight loss and 
other measures by slowing down 
the digestion of carbohydrates 
(complex sugars) from your diet.  
This reduces the abnormally high 
blood sugar levels that occur after 
each meal. 

ASK YOUR DOCTOR IF YOU HAVE ANY 
QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY THIS 
MEDICINE HAS BEEN PRESCRIBED FOR 
YOU. 
Your doctor may have prescribed it 
for another reason.

BEFORE YOU TAKE 
GLUCOBAY 
_WHEN YOU MUST NOT TAKE IT _
DO NOT TAKE GLUCOBAY IF YOU HAVE 
AN ALLERGY TO: 
• acarbose, the active ingredient in 
Glucobay 
• any of the ingredients listed at the 
end of this leaflet. 

Some of the symptoms of an 
allergic reaction may include: 
• shortness of breath 
• wheezing or difficulty breathing 
• swelling of the face, lips, tongue 
or other parts of the body 
• rash, itching or hives on the skin. 

DO NOT TAKE GLUCOBAY I

Summary of Product characteristics

PRODUCT INFORMATION 

GLUCOBAY
®

(acarbose) 

NAME OF THE MEDICINE 

GLUCOBAY contains acarbose (CAS number 56180-94-0)
which is a complex oligosaccharide of 
microbial origin.  Acarbose is made up of an unsaturated
cyclitol unit, an amino sugar and a maltose 
residue.  It has a molecular weight of 645.6.  The chemical
structure is shown below: 

DESCRIPTION 

In addition to acarbose, GLUCOBAY tablets contain the
following inactive ingredients: cellulose, corn 
starch, silica colloidal anhydrous and magnesium stearate. 

GLUCOBAY 50 MG tablets are round, biconvex, white
to yellow-tinged tablets, marked with the Bayer 
cross on the one side and “G” and “50” on the reverse
side. 
GLUCOBAY 100 MG tablets are oval oblong, convex, white to
yellow-tinged tablets, marked with a 
score on the one side, and “G”
and “100” (divided by a score line) on the reverse side. 

PHARMACOLOGY 

PHARMACOKINETICS 
ABSORPTION:  One to 2% of an oral dose of acarbose
is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract as 
unchanged drug.  After the oral administration of 200mg 
14
C-labelled acarbose (200mg) to 6 healthy 
volunteers, approximately 35% of total radioactivity (changed and
unchanged drug) appeared in the 
urine. An average of 51% of the oral dose was excreted in the
faeces as unabsorbed drug-related 
radioactivity within 96 hours of ingestion. The proportion
of active substance excreted in the urine was 
1.7% of the administered dose. The low systemic bioavailability of
the parent drug is therapeutically 
desired, because acarbose acts locally within the gastrointestinal
tract.  Following oral dosing with 
acarbose,
peak plasma concentrations of radioactivity were attained 14 - 24 hours after dosing (586.3 ± 
282.7 µg/L after
20.7 ± 5.2 hours), while peak plasma concentrations of active drug
were attained at 
ap