EFFERVESCENT PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATIONS CONTAINING CONTROLLED RELEASE BIODEGRADABLE MICROCAPSULES

摘要

Effervescent pharmaceutical formulations for the sustained and controlled oral administration of a drug selected from a calcium channel blocker, an ACE inhibitor, a narcotic analgesic or analogues or combinations thereof, the formulation comprising microcapsules in which the drug is entrapped in a biodegradable polymer, for example poly-L lactide. The pH of the formulation can be varied to optimize the release of the or each drug from the formulation. Microcapsules suitably have a D 50 % between about 100 nm and 900 nm and a drug loading of the order of about 10 % to 70 % by weight. The formulations can be used to administer the drugs to a patient on a once-daily basis so as to achieve a therapeutic effect over a substantially 24-hour period.