Ocular therapeutic system for dispensing a medication formulation
First Claim
1. An ocular therapeutic system for dispensing a medication formulation to an eye, said system sized, shaped and adapted for easy insertion and comfortable retention in the eye and comprising, depots of a medication formulation consisting essentially of from 1 to 40 weight percent of a pilocarpine therapeutically acceptable salt of 0.1 to 100 micron size and 1 to 25 weight percent of an epinephrine therapeutically acceptable salt of 0.1 to 100 micron size, said depots dispersed in and surrounded substantially individually by a polymer that is impermeable to the passage of the medication formulation and permeable to the passage of eye fluid.
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Abstract
An ocular system is disclosed for dispensing a medication formulation to the eye. The system comprises a formulation consisting of a pilocarpine osmotic solute and an epinephrine osmotic solute dispersed in a polymer such that the formulation is surrounded substantially individually by the polymer. The system, when placed in the eye, dispenses the formulation at a controlled rate over time. A method also is disclosed for the management of intraocular pressure using the ocular system.
139 Citations
11 Claims
- 1. An ocular therapeutic system for dispensing a medication formulation to an eye, said system sized, shaped and adapted for easy insertion and comfortable retention in the eye and comprising, depots of a medication formulation consisting essentially of from 1 to 40 weight percent of a pilocarpine therapeutically acceptable salt of 0.1 to 100 micron size and 1 to 25 weight percent of an epinephrine therapeutically acceptable salt of 0.1 to 100 micron size, said depots dispersed in and surrounded substantially individually by a polymer that is impermeable to the passage of the medication formulation and permeable to the passage of eye fluid.
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5. An ocular insert consisting essentially of (a) discrete depots of a medication formulation of a pilocarpine osmotically effective solute and an epinephrine osmotically effective solute, which solutes have a size of 0.1 to 100 microns and exhibit an osmotic pressure gradient across the wall of the depot against an external fluid present in the environment of use;
- (b) a film of an ethylene-vinyl ester copolymer forming the insert, imparting size and shape to the insert for easy insertion and prolonged retention in the environment of use, said film substantially impermeable to the passage of the solutes, permeable to the passage of the external fluid and substantially surrounding individually and serving as the wall of the depots; and
, (c) wherein, when the insert is positioned in the environment of use, fluid from the environment is imbibed through the wall into the depots to continuously dissolve the solutes and generate a hydrostatic pressure in the depots which pressure is applied against the wall of the depots thereby forming apertures and releasing the formulation from the depots at the surface and from within the insert by the inward progressive aperture formation in depots at a controlled rate over a prolonged period of time. - View Dependent Claims (6)
- (b) a film of an ethylene-vinyl ester copolymer forming the insert, imparting size and shape to the insert for easy insertion and prolonged retention in the environment of use, said film substantially impermeable to the passage of the solutes, permeable to the passage of the external fluid and substantially surrounding individually and serving as the wall of the depots; and
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7. A method for treating glaucoma in a warm-blooded animal, which method consists essentially in lowering the intraocular pressure associated with glaucoma by administering to the eye of the animal a medication formulation, the method consisting essentially in the steps of:
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(a) positioning in the eye an ocular insert, said insert consisting essentially of; (1) discrete depots of a medication formulation consisting of a pilocarpine osmotic solute and an epinephrine osmotic solute, which solutes exhibit osmotic pressure gradients across the wall of the depot against an external fluid, said depots dispersed in; (2) a film sized and shaped as an insert for easy positioning and retention in the eye of the animal, said film a polymeric material that surrounds individually and forms the wall of the discret depots, is non-toxic, nonerodible, impermeable to the passage of the solutes and permeable to the passage of fluid; (b) imbibing fluid from the eye into the depots to dissolve the solutes and fill the depots with solution, thereby exerting pressure aganst the wall of the depot and forming apertures that release formulation from the depots at the surface and from the interior of the insert through formulation dispensing paths made by the inward progressive aperture formation in related depots;
thereby,(c) administering formulation to the eye at a controlled rate for treating glaucoma over a prolonged period of time. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification