United States Patent:  5,965,158

Assignee:  The University of Texas System & Board of Regents (Austin, TX); Aronex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (The Woodlands, TX)

Filed:  November 26, 1997

A method is disclosed for preparing a stable preliposomal powder which, when reconstituted with water or saline solution, forms a suspension of liposomes containing a polyene drug, such as nystatin. The method involves the steps of combining at least one phospholipid with a first organic solvent to form a first solution, adding a clarifying amount of water to the first solution, combining a polyene with a second organic solvent to form a second solution, combining the first and second solutions to produce a substantially clear combined solution, and then removing the organic solvents, leaving a powder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally concerns a method for producing a powder suitable for the preparation of polyene-containing liposomes upon suspension in an aqueous solution. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method of preparing a liposomal-polyene preliposomal powder, comprising the steps of combining at least one phospholipid with a first organic solvent to form a first solution; combining the first solution with a clarifying amount of water, forming a clarified first solution; combining polyene with a second organic solvent to form a second solution; combining the clarified first solution and the second solution to produce a substantially clear combined solution; and removing substantially all the solvent from the combined solution. In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, a method of preparing a liposomal-nystatin preliposomal powder comprises the steps of combining dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline and dimyristoyl phosphatidyl glycerol with t-butyl alcohol to form a first solution; combining the first solution with a clarifying amount of water, forming a clarified first solution; combining nystatin with dimethyl sulfoxide to form a second solution; combining the clarified first solution and the second solution to produce a substantially clear combined solution; and removing substantially all the t-butyl alcohol and dimethyl sulfoxide from the combined solution.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of preparing a parenterally-administrable polyene preparation, comprising the steps of combining at least one phospholipid with a first organic solvent to form a first solution; combining the first solution with a clarifying amount of water, forming a clarified first solution; combining polyene with a second organic solvent to form a second solution; combining the clarified first solution and the second solution to produce a substantially clear combined solution; removing substantially all the solvent from the combined solution, thereby forming a preliposomal powder; and adding a pharmaceutically acceptable solvent to the preliposomal powder.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a liposomal-polyene preliposomal powder prepared by a method comprising the steps of combining at least one phospholipid with a first organic solvent to form a first solution; combining the first solution with a clarifying amount of water, forming a clarified first solution; combining polyene with a second organic solvent to form a second solution; combining the clarified first solution and the second solution to produce a substantially clear combined solution; and removing substantially all the solvent from the combined solution, leaving a preliposomal powder. A particular embodiment of this aspect of the present invention is a lyophilized nystatin powder, comprising nystatin, dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline, and dimyristoyl phosphatidyl glycerol, where the weight ratio of DMPC to DMPG is about 7:3, and where the powder is free of halogenated solvents. It is believed that the relative proportions of water and the first organic solvent affect the nature and characteristics of the resulting powder, including the way in which the powder behaves when hydrated. The polarity of the solution, with the proportion of water preferably being no greater than the proportion of the first organic solvent, is believed to affect the organization of the materials in solution, and thus the nature of the powder that is ultimately formed.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a substantially clear, filterable polyene solution, comprising at least one polyene, at least one phospholipid, at least one organic solvent, and a clarifying amount of water.

The present invention, in its various aspects, provides surprising advantages over the prior art. For example, it has been found that merely combining phospholipids with an organic solvent such as t-butyl alcohol produces a solution that is not clear, and therefore is not desirable for use in producing a preliposomal powder. The present invention makes use of the surprising discovery that a clarifying amount of water can be added to the solution of polyene and organic solvent, yielding a clear solution which is suitable for use in subsequent steps of the method. The clarity of solution permits substantially uniform contact between the polyene and the phospholipids in subsequent stages. Further, the filterability of this solution permits contaminating microorganisms to be removed readily prior to lyophilization. This latter point is particularly important with respect to polyenes such as nystatin, which would not tolerate autoclaving as an alternate means of removing microorganisms.

It is also surprising that the clarifying amount of water needed for use in the method of the present invention can range from about 10% of the amount of the first organic solvent (e.g., t-butyl alcohol) upward. It is known that in other alcohol-lipid solutions, such large amounts of water cannot be used without causing precipitation. For example, precipitation will result in a solution of egg phosphatidyl choline in ethanol when the amount of water added exceeds 30% of the volume of alcohol.

It is also surprising that a second organic solvent, such as dimethyl sulfoxide, can be added to the clear solution containing the clarifying amount of water in conjunction with the addition of polyene without causing either the lipids or the polyene to precipitate. Again, the surprising clarity of the final solution renders the solution more readily filterable, and thus makes the overall process more advantageous and economical. Without wishing to be bound by any particular theory to explain these surprising results, it is believed that the first organic solvent, such as t-butyl alcohol, forms a solvation complex with the phospholipids, a complex that arranges itself in a micellular configuration such that it remains clear even in a vast excess of water or solvent. It is also believed that the polyene arranges itself in a complex that may be micellular in nature, in the presence of the phospholipids.

The present invention facilitates the formulation and reconstitution of liposomal-polyene from a degradation-resistant preliposomal powder. The simplicity of the present invention makes it suitable for large-scale manufacturing. Further, it produces a stable powder which can be easily stored for at least one year. In addition, when reconstituted, the product of the present method forms multilamellar liposomes which have a mean size that is suitable for administration to humans, for example in the systemic administration of liposomal nystatin to treat a fungal or viral infection.

Claim 1 of 3 Claims

1. A lyophilized nystatin preliposomal powder, comprising nystatin, dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline, and dimyristoyl glycerol, where the weight ratio of dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline to dimyristoyl phosphatidyl glycerol is about 7:3, and where the powder is free of halogenated solvents.

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