Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Preparations characterized by special physical form – Tablets – lozenges – or pills
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-27
2002-06-04
Page, Thurman K. (Department: 1615)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Preparations characterized by special physical form
Tablets, lozenges, or pills
C424S468000, C424S469000, C424S476000, C424S484000, C424S451000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06399096
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a solid, oral, controlled release pharmaceutical dosage form
The literature is replete with examples of controlled release pharmaceutical preparations for oral usage.
PCT.SEP93,00642 describes an oral morphine preparation having essentially complete bioavailability and, for the major part of the dissolution, an essentially zero order and essentially pH independent release of morphine for a period of at least 8 hours, in the form of a table having a core containing morphine sulphate and a buffering agent, the tablet core being coated with a diffusion membrane comprising a terpolymer of vinyl chloride, vinylacetate and vinylalcohol.
EP 0377518 describes a sustained release pellet composition containing a core element including at least one active ingredient of high solubility, and a core coating for the core element which is partly soluble at a highly acidic pH to provide a slow rate of release of active ingredient and wherein the active ingredient is available for absorption at a relatively constant faster rate in the intestines over an extended period of time such that blood levels are maintained within the therapeutic range over an extended period of time. A typical embodiment in this patent publication is a morphine sulphate containing preparation suitable for twice a day dosing obtained by a process which comprises coating core seeds with the active ingredient and then coating the resulting core seeds with a controlled release coating material containing ethyl cellulose, an acrylic co-polymer, a plasticiser and a detackifying agent using a solution of the aforesaid substances in an organic solvent.
PCT.SE94/00264 describes controlled release preparations containing a salt of morphine, comprising a number of core seeds coated with a barrier membrane. In the Example a conventional granulation is carried out with morphine hydrochloride, lactose and microcrystalline cellulose. The resulting morphine hydrochloride cores are then coated with a controlled release membrane containing hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose and plasticisers using a solution of these substances in a mixed solvent of ethanol and methyl isobutyl ketone.
PCT.SE93/0025 describes a process for manufacturing sustained release pellets comprising pelletizing a mixture of a drug in finely divided form and a binder consisting of one or more water-soluble wax-like binder substances with a melting point above 40° C. the pelletization being performed by mechanically working the mixture in a high shear mixer under the input of a sufficient amount of energy for the binder to melt and pelletization to take place. In a typical example in this patent publication paraceramol is pelletized using glycerol monostearate and optionally a lipophilic binder substance such as stearyl alcohol, triglyceride DS, Beeswax or microcrystalline wax, together with calcium hydrogen phosphate as a filler.
EP 0636370 describes a sustained release pharmaceutical formulation containing morphine which is suitable for administration on a once daily basis. The dosage form is typically in the form of multiparticulates obtained by mechanically working in a high shear mixer a pharmaceutically acceptable morphine salt and a hydrophobic fusible carrier or diluent having a melting point from 35° C. to 150° C. and optionally a release control component comprising a water-soluble fusible material or a particulate, soluble or insoluble organic or inorganic material, at a speed and energy input which allows the carrier or diluent to melt or soften whereby it forms agglomerates, breaking down the agglomerates to give controlled release particles and optionally continuing mechanically working optionally with the addition of a low percentage of the carrier or diluent.
Embodiments are described in EP 0636370 in which the mean Cmax obtained in a group of five health volunteers when dosed at 60 mg of morphine sulphate is approximately 8 ng/ml and the W
50
value for morphine is approximately 8.6 hours.
The mean plasma curve includes a relatively high peak of about 10 ng/ml at about 3 hours after dosing which tails off rapidly to reach a fairly stable, but declining level about 12 hours after dosing, with the ratio of mean Cmax to the mean plasma level at 24 hours of about 4.5.
According to the present invention there is provided a solid, oral, controlled release pharmaceutical dosage form which comprises a pharmaceutically active ingredient having a solubility in water of greater than 1 gm in 250 ml water at 25° C. dispersed in a controlled release matrix, wherein the dosage form when tested by the Ph. Eur Basket method at 100 rpm 900 ml aqueous buffer (pH 6.5) containing 0.05% w/w Polysorbate 80 at 37° C. has an essentially zero order rate of release of the pharmaceutically active ingredient over a period of 8 hours, the amount of pharmaceutically active ingredient released over eight hours being in the range of 15% to 45% by weight, and when tested in a group of at least five healthy humans the median tmax, based on blood sampling at half hourly intervals, is in the range of from 2.5 to 6 hours, and the ratio of mean Cmax to the mean plasma level at 24 hours is in the range of 1.5 to 3.5.
Polysorbate 80 is described in entry 7559 at page 1207 in Merck Index. Eleventh Edition 1989 published by Merck & Co. Inc. It is an oleate ester of sorbitol and its anhydrides copolymerised with approximately 200 moles of ethylene oxide for each mole of sorbitol and sorbitol anhydrides.
A preferred dosage form in accordance with the invention has a median tmax in the range from 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
In a preferred embodiment the dosage form according to the present invention has a mean W
50
in the range from 15 to 35 hours, more preferably 20 to 30 hours when tested
in vivo
as set forth above.
In preferred embodiments the matrix comprises as hydrophobic, fusible material having a melting point of greater than 40° C. and may also include a wicking agent which may be a hydrophilic, organic, polymeric, fusible substance or a particulate soluble or insoluble inorganic material.
In embodiments of the process of the invention described below it is believed the resulting matrix comprises an inner region which is a mixture comprising an hydrophobic, fusible material and active ingredient and preferably wicking agent surrounded by a contiguous, outer, mantle region comprising an hydrophobic, fusible material have a reduced concentration of, or being substantially free from, said pharmaceutically active ingredient and wicking agent, though the invention is not limited to this theory.
The pharmaceutically active ingredient is preferably present in an amount suitable for twice or once a day dosing. The preferred active ingredient is morphine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of morphine, preferably morphine sulphate or morphine hydrochloride and is preferably present in an amount suitable for once a day dosing. The dosage forms may preferably contain 30 to 400 mg of morphine as pharmaceutically acceptable salt.
The dosage form of the invention is conveniently in the form of a table a capsule containing multiparticulates.
Although morphine and pharmaceutically acceptable morphine salts have been mentioned above as preferred active ingredients, other suitable water soluble active ingredients include hydromorphone hydrochloride, diamorphine hydrochloride tramadol hydrochloride and dihydrocodeine tartrate.
Preferably the weight ratio of hydrophobic, fusible material to wicking agent in the matrix or inner region thereof is in the range from 8:1 to 16:1 preferably 8.1 to 12.1.
Suitably the weight ratio of hydrophobic, fusible material in the said mixture to hydrophobic, fusible material in the mantle region is in the range of from 3.1 to 12.1.
Suitable hydrophobic, fusible materials are natural or synthetic waxes, oils, fatty acid glycerides or other esters for example hydrogenated vegetable oil or castor oil and suitable hydrophilic, organic, fusible wicking agents include polyethylene glycols (PEGs) of various molecular weights e.g. 1,000 to 20,000 p
Knott Trevor John
Leslie Stewart Thomas
Malkowska Sandra Therese Antoinette
Miller Ronald Brown
Mohammad Hassan
Channavajjala Lakshmi
Davidson Davidson & Kappel LLC
Euro-Celtique S.A.
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