Link:  Pharm/Biotech Resources

Title:  Pharmaceutical composition having two coating layers

United States Patent:  6,939,560

Issued:  September 6, 2005

Inventors:  Shen; Robert W. (Kalamazoo, MI); Walter; Gerald A. (Portage, MI)

Assignee:  Pharmacia & Upjohn Company (Kalamazoo, MI)

Appl. No.:  738333

Filed:  December 15, 2000

The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition which is substantially free of unpleasant tastes and orally administrable which comprises:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical composition comprising an active medicament for oral administration, which is substantially free of unpleasant tastes associated with the active medicament.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical composition for oral administration which comprises an active medicament that is capable of being dissolved in both organic solutions or aqueous medium in an appreciable extent.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical composition comprising an active medicament for oral administration in a form of chewable tablet, which has good taste, good appearance and suitable hardness.

The objects of the present invention have been accomplished in that the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition that is substantially free of unpleasant tastes and orally administrable which comprises:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition which is substantially free of its bitter taste.

The present invention is formed from an active medicament having an inner coating layer and an outer coating layer. The active medicaments are of the ability to dissolve in both organic solutions or aqueous medium. However, while the composition of the present invention for such medicaments is its most important utility, they are applicable to all pharmaceutically active agents as well.

A suitable composition according to the present invention comprises an active medicament having an inner coating layer to form an inner core wherein the active medicament is in an amount of from about 5% to about 65% and the inner coating layer is in an amount of from about 95% to about 35% by weight of the entire inner core of the composition. The preferred inner core composition comprises an active medicament in an amount of about 50% and an inner coating layer in an amount of about 50% by weight of the entire inner core of the composition. The amount of active medicament in the composition is adjusted widely depending on the particular active medicament being used and the required concentration.

The oil substance useful in forming the inner layer of the composition includes a broad spectrum of pharmaceutically acceptable water-immiscible materials having a melting point at the range of from about 50° C. to about 100° C. such as hydrogenated vegetable or animal oil. For example, the oil substance can be hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated soybean oil, avocado oil, squalene oil, sesame oil, olive oil, canola oil, corn oil, rapeseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, fish oils, flavored oils, water insoluble vitamins, or polyethlyene glycol polymer having a melting point at least above 50° C., and mixtures thereof. The preferred oil for the inner coating layer is hydrogenated soybean oil.

The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention further comprises a polymer substance as an outer coating layer. Suitable pharmaceutically acceptable polymer substance for use in the outer coating layer includes cellulose based polymers such as alkylcelluloses, for example, methylcellulose, ethylcellulose or propylcellulose; hydroxyalkylcelluloses, for example, hydroxypropylcellulose or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose; and other cellulose based polymers, for example, cellulose acetate phthalate, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose phthalate; and methacrylic acid copolymers; aminoalkyl methacrylate copolymers; methacrylic ester copolymers; glycerate triacetate; triethylcitrate; acetyl triethylcitrate; tributyl citrate; acetyl tributyl citrate; diethyl phthalate; dibutyl phthalate; or dibutyl sebacate. Particularly preferred polymeric substance is ethylcellulose, which may be any of the pharmaceutically acceptable ones, for example one having an ethoxyl content of 46.5 to 51% and having a viscosity of 4 to 100 cps. The outer coating layer may contain, in addition to polymeric substance, other pharmaceutical components such as suitable plastercizer, for example, propylene glycol or polyethlyene glycol polymer 400; or solvents, for example, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, acetone or water. In general, the polymer substance is in an amount of from about 4% to 90% by weight of the total composition. The inner core is in an amount of from about 90% to about 4% by weight of the total composition and the other components are in the amount of from about 1% to about 40%. In a preferred composition of the present invention, the polymer substance is in an amount of from about 20% to about 40%, the inner core is in an amount from about 40% to about 70%, and the other composition is in an amount of from about 1% to about 5%.

If desired, the composition of the present invention may further comprise conventional pharmaceutical acceptable additives such as coloring agents, flavoring agents, fragrances, preserving agents, stabilizers, anti-oxidant and/or thickening agents.

The compositions according to the present invention may take the form of granules, tablets, pellets, pills, powders or capsules for oral administration. One important feature of the present invention is that the oil substance employed in the inner coating layer provides great flexibility; thereby the composition of the present invention is capable of being bent or flexed without damage during the tablet compressing process, and the medicine inside the oil coated beadlets will not leak out after chewing. As such, a chewable tablet is the particularly preferred dosage form of the present invention, which may be obtained by compressing the granules with a suitable chewable base such as sucrose, sorbitol, glucose, xylitol, mannitol or a mixture thereof.

The composition of the present invention may be prepared by known manufacturing techniques, for example, using a hot melt coating method to form an inner coating layer and then spray a suitable polymer solution on the inner core. The present invention will be better understood in connection with the following preparations and examples, which are intended as an illustration of and not a limitation upon the scope of the invention. Without further elaboration, it is believed that one skilled in the art can, using the preceding description and the information provided in the examples below, practice the present invention to its fullest extent.

To a stainless steel container, add Stearine Flakes and place the container on a hot plate. Apply heat to the hot plate to melt the flakes and maintain the batch temperature to about 80-85° C. To a Glatt GPCG 5, insulate the air supply unit (including the nozzle, nozzle wand and atomization air line). Atomization air is preheated to above 100° C. by using an air heater. Dimenhydrinate is added to the Glatt product container. Turn the turbine on by using cold air when the spraying system is hot. Spray the melted soybean oil on the dimenhydrinate and maintain the product temperature at about 48° C. by monitoring the spray rate until all of the soybean oil is used. Cool the batch to about 35° C. and then remove the product from Glatt product container. The product is screened through a #16 mesh screen.

To a suitable container add Isopropyl Alcohol, Acetone and the Propylene Glycol. While mixing slowly, add the Ethylcellulose into the above solvents and mix them until all of Ethylcellulose is dissolved. To the Glatt product container add the Stearine coated Dimenhydrinate. Spray the Ethylcellulose solution on to the batch according to the following parameters:

Product temperature: 24-27° C.

Exhaust temperature: 26° C.

Inlet temperature: 40° C.

Atomization air: 3 bar

Spray rate: 135 g/minute

The twice coated product is screened through a #16 mesh screen.

Add the above ingredients (without the Magnesium Stearate) into a Patterson-Kelley blender and mix for 30 minutes. Add the Magnesium Stearate and mix for 3 minutes. Compress the material into tablets using a tablet press with the weight of the tablets at 700 mg/tablet and tablet harness at 6-9 Strong Cobb Units.

Tablet hardness: 6-9 SCU

Friability: 0.2%

Taste: excellent taste with good color appearance

Claim 1 of 8 Claims

1. A pharmaceutical composition which is substantially free of unpleasant taste, comprising

granules comprising:

(a) an active medicament having an unpleasant taste, wherein the active medicament is capable of being dissolved in both organic solutions and aqueous media to an appreciable extent,

(b) an inner coating layer comprising an oil substance having a melting point at a range of from about 5° C. to about 100° C., wherein the inner coating layer and active medicament form an inner core, and

(c) an outer coating layer comprising a polymer substance,

wherein the active medicament is in an amount of from about 5% to about 65% by weight of the total inner core; the oil substance is in an amount of from about 35% to about 95% by weight of the total inner core; and the polymer substance is in an amount of from about 4% to about 90% by weight of the granules.

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