United States Patent:  5,942,242

Assignee:  LTT Institute Co., Ltd (Kanagawa-Pref., JP)

Filed:  July 10, 1996

A medicament for nasal administration to be used for disease prevention or treatment comprising a vaccine or a pharmacologically active peptide compounded with an ion exchange resin or adsorbent resin powder whose mean particle size is not larger than 200 mm.

Summary of the Invention

Brief Summary of the Invention

The present invention relates to medicament compositions for nasal administration of vaccines, peptides, proteins, or enzymes comprising a vaccine, a pharmacologically active peptide such as a peptide hormone, physiologically active protein, or enzyme protein, or mixtures thereof, and an ion exchange resin or an adsorbent resin powder as carrier therefor which effectively delivers the vaccine or peptide to, and supports its transfer across, the surface of the nasal mucosa for absorbtion into the general circulation.

Recognizing that it is essential to transfer the vaccine or active peptide to the surface of the nasal mucosa to be absorbed into the general circulation, we have succeeded in finding, by extensive research, certain ion exchange resins and adsorbent resins which are effective as powdered carriers for transferring vaccines or active peptides to the nasal mucosa where they are easily released, and which are inactive and harmless to the human body, and which contain no harmful impurities. In particular, cation exchange resins have been found appropriate as carriers for acid proteins such as insulin, wherein the negatively charged cation exchange resin easily releases or repels such acid proteins upon their becoming negatively-charged in solution.

The present invention thus sets forth a safe and easy-to-handle medicament for nasal administration which exhibits superior clinical effects as a result of improved transmembrane vaccination and enhanced systemic absorption of the peptide thereby.

Claim 1 of 19 Claims

1. A medicament suspension or powder for nasal administration to deliver a vaccine or pharmacologically active peptide across the mucous membrane, comprising a powder of one or more cation exchange resins and/or one or more adsorbent resins, to which a vaccine or a pharmacologically active peptide is compounded, the particles of said powder functioning as carriers of said vaccine or peptide during administration of said medicament, wherein said cation exchange resins are selected from the group consisting of polystyrene-sulfonates, polystyrene-acid copolymers, and salts thereof.

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