Stabilized pharmaceutical composition and its production

#This invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition which comprises 2-[(2-pyridyl)methylsulphinyl]benzimidazole or a derivative thereof (hereinafter sometimes referred to collectively as "benzimidazole compounds"), which is useful as an antiulcer agent, as stabilized by incorporation of a basic inorganic salt of magnesium and/or a basic inorganic salt of calcium and its production.

#Certain benzimidazole compounds are recently under clinical study as gastric acid secretion inhibitors. They serve as therapeutic agents for digestive ulcer. Their principal pharmacological effect consists in gastric acid secretion suppression based on (H.sup.+ +K.sup.+)-ATPase inhibition and is more potent and durable as compared with histamine H.sub.2 receptor antagonists such as cimetidine and ranitidine. They also have gastric mucosa protecting activity. Therefore, they have attracted attention as next-generation potent therapeutic agents for digestive ulcer.

#Those benzimidazole compounds which are described in Japanese Unexamined Patent laid open Nos. 62275/77, 141783/79, 53406/82, 135881/83, 192880/83 and 181277/84, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,563, U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,431, European Patent Publication No. 45,200, U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,409, European Patent Publication No. 5,129 and G.B. Patent Publication No. 2,134,523A, respectively, among others are known to have antiulcer activity.

#Of the components given below, the compound (A), magnesium hydroxide, L-cysteine, corn starch and lactose were mixed together, then microcrystalline cellulose, light silicic anhydride and magnesium stearate, each in half the intended amount, were added. After sufficient admixing, the mixture was compression-molded on a dry granulator (roller compactor; Freund, Japan. The compressed mass was ground in a mortar, the resultant granular mass was passed through a round sieve (16 mesh). The remaining portions of microcrystalline cellulose, light silicic anhydride and magnesium stearate were added to the sieved mass and, after admixing, the whole mixture was made up into tablets each weighing 250 mg on a rotary tableting machine (Kikusui Seisakusho, Japan).

#______________________________________ Composition per tablet: ______________________________________ Compound (A) 50 mg Magnesium hydroxide 30 mg L-Cysteine 20 mg Corn starch 20 mg Lactose 65.2 mg Microcrystalline cellulose 60 mg Light silicic anhydride 1.8 mg Magnesium stearate 3.0 mg Total 250.0 mg ______________________________________

#Tablets were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that omeprazole (Note) was used instead of the compound (A).