Microneedle device

• US 8,747,362 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2010
• Issued: 06/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Company Incorporated
• Inventors: Terahara, Takaaki, Tokumoto, Seiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Lucchesi, Nicholas
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, WENG WAH
• Application Number:
  US13/376,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20120130306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,461 Days
• Field of Search: 604/21, 604/173
• US Class Current: 604/173
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 47/34 Macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds, e.g. polyesters, polyamino acids, polysiloxanes, polyphosphazines, copolymers of polyalkylene glycol or poloxamers A61K47/10 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 9/0021 Intradermal administration, e.g. through microneedle arrays, needleless injectors mechanical aspects A61M
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2037/0023 Drug applicators using microneedles
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 37/0015 by using microneedles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 50/30 Against vector-borne diseases, e.g. mosquito-borne, fly-borne, tick-borne or waterborne diseases whose impact is exacerbated by climate change

Abstract

Provided is a microneedle device where a coating agent has been applied to microneedles having a biodegradable resin. It has been found that the application of the coating agent to microneedles of a biodegradable resin having a predetermined strength allows the microneedles to have excellent performance. Further, with regard to the coating agent, a predetermined type and amount thereof are also useful to demonstrate performance. Accordingly, when a microneedle device 1 is arranged so that at least a part of a microneedle array 2 provided with microneedles 3 made from polylactic acid having a weight average molecular weight of 40,000 or more is coated with a carrier containing physiologically active ingredients, it is possible to attain excellent migration characteristics of the physiologically active ingredients to a living body.

Claims

1. A microneedle device comprising a microneedle array provided with microneedles made from polylactic acid having a weight average molecular weight of 40,000 or more, wherein at least a part of the microneedle array is coated with a carrier containing a physiologically active ingredient and the viscosity of the carrier is 100 cps to 100000 cps;

and wherein the weight average molecular weight is a weight average molecular weight after sterilization by electron-beam or gamma-ray irradiation.

2. The microneedle device according to claim 1, wherein the carrier is pullulan, propylene glycol, glycerin, or a carboxyvinyl polymer.

3. The microneedle device according to claim 1, wherein the viscosity of the carrier is 500 cps to 60000 cps.

4. The microneedle device according to claim 1, wherein a height of the coating is a distance from a tip to a lowest-limit position of the needle to which a coating liquid is distributed, and the height of the coating is 100 μ

m to 200 μ

m.

5. The microneedle device according to claim 2, wherein the carrier is propylene glycol.

6. The microneedle device according to claim 2, wherein the carrier is glycerin.

7. The microneedle device according to claim 2, wherein the carrier is a carboxyvinyl polymer.