Drug delivery device
First Claim
1. A drug delivery device comprising:
- a skin penetrating assembly including a support defining an upper surface and a lower surface, the support further defining a plurality of apertures extending between the upper and lower surfaces, the skin penetrating assembly further including a plurality of skin penetrating members extending outwardly from the lower surface, each skin penetrating member defining a channel for receiving a drug formulation, each channel being in fluid communication with at least one of the plurality of apertures; and
a separate reservoir positioned adjacent to the upper surface of the support that initially retains the drug formulation, the reservoir including a top surface and a bottom surface and defining a plurality of passages extending between the top and bottom surfaces, the passages being configured such that the drug formulation is retained within the passages against gravity prior to delivery of the drug formulation to the skin penetrating assembly,wherein a cross-sectional area of each passage is selected such that a capillary pressure is generated within each passage that retains the drug formulation against gravity until a negative pressure is generated within the skin penetration assembly due to skin absorption that draws the drug formulation out of the passages and into the skin penetration assembly.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A drug delivery device is disclosed that may include a skin penetrating assembly having a support defining an upper surface and a lower surface. The skin penetrating assembly may also include a plurality of skin penetrating members extending outwardly from the lower surface. Each skin penetrating member may define a channel for receiving a drug formulation. In addition, the device may include a reservoir positioned adjacent to the upper surface of the support for initially retaining the drug formulation. The reservoir may include a top surface and a bottom surface and may define a plurality of passages extending between the top and bottom surfaces. The passages may be configured such that the drug formulation is retained within the passages against gravity.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A drug delivery device comprising:
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a skin penetrating assembly including a support defining an upper surface and a lower surface, the support further defining a plurality of apertures extending between the upper and lower surfaces, the skin penetrating assembly further including a plurality of skin penetrating members extending outwardly from the lower surface, each skin penetrating member defining a channel for receiving a drug formulation, each channel being in fluid communication with at least one of the plurality of apertures; and a separate reservoir positioned adjacent to the upper surface of the support that initially retains the drug formulation, the reservoir including a top surface and a bottom surface and defining a plurality of passages extending between the top and bottom surfaces, the passages being configured such that the drug formulation is retained within the passages against gravity prior to delivery of the drug formulation to the skin penetrating assembly, wherein a cross-sectional area of each passage is selected such that a capillary pressure is generated within each passage that retains the drug formulation against gravity until a negative pressure is generated within the skin penetration assembly due to skin absorption that draws the drug formulation out of the passages and into the skin penetration assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for delivering a drug formulation, the method comprising:
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positioning a drug delivery device adjacent to skin, wherein the drug delivery device comprises; a skin penetrating assembly including a support and a plurality of skin penetrating members extending outwardly from the support, the support defining a plurality of apertures therein, each skin penetrating member defining a channel for receiving the drug formulation, each channel being in fluid communication with at least one of the plurality of apertures; and a separate reservoir initially retaining the drug formulation, the reservoir defining a plurality of passages; and inserting the skin penetrating members into the skin such that a negative pressure is generated within the skin penetrating assembly due to skin absorption, wherein a cross-sectional area of each passage is selected such that a capillary pressure is generated within each passage that retains the drug formulation within the passages against gravity until the negative pressure draws the drug formulation out of the passages and into the skin penetrating assembly. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification