Oral Administration of Unstable or Poorly-Absorbed Drugs

A method of orally administering a gastrically impractical drug to the bloodstream of a mammal, the method comprising:

• combining a therapeutically effective amount of the drug and a surfactant system including a non-ionic surfactant into a substantially homogenous combination, the identity and amount of the surfactant system being selected such that the combination spontaneously emulsifies upon contacting an aqueous medium under conditions of mild mechanical agitation;
• mixing the combination, the aqueous medium and a bolus of an antacid sufficient to raise the gastric pH of the mammal to at least about 3 to yield an emulsified mixture;
• and
• thereafter orally administering the emulsified mixture to the mammal.

A method of orally administering a gastrically impractical drug to the bloodstream of a mammal, the method comprising:

• combining a therapeutically effective amount of the drug and a surfactant system including a non-ionic surfactant into a substantially homogenous combination, the identity and amount of the surfactant system being selected such that the combination spontaneously emulsifies upon contacting an aqueous medium under conditions of mild mechanical agitation;
• orally administering to the mammal a bolus of an antacid sufficient to raise the gastric pH of the mammal to at least about 3;
• and
• orally administering the combination to the mammal sufficiently closely in time to administration of the bolus that the gastric pH of the mammal remains at least about 3 while the combination is administered.