Pharmaceutical coating sugars

A finely divided water soluble solid pharmaceutical dosage form having a particle size smaller than 10 mesh for immediate release of the pharmaceutical by oral administration of a pharmaceutically acceptable liquid having the water-soluble solid pharmaceutical dosage form dissolved therein, the pharmaceutical dosage form consisting of a pharmaceutical coating on a sugar core wherein:

• a) the sugar core consists essentially of about 90% to 100% by weight of sugar based on the weight of the sugar core, the sugar having a particle size of 30-60 mesh and the sugar core comprising about 90% to about 99% by weight of the pharmaceutical dosage form;
• b) the pharmaceutical coating consists essentially of about 25% to about 50% by weight of sugar based on the dry weight of the coating and about 50% to about 75% by weight of at least one water-soluble pharmaceutical based on the dry weight of the coating and the coating comprising about 1% to about 5% by weight of the pharmaceutical dosage form;
• and
• c) the pharmaceutical coating having been applied to the sugar core from an aqueous solution of the sugar and the water-soluble pharmaceutical containing about 50% to 80% by weight of water by pan coating such that the surface of the sugar core is dissolved and intimately admixed with the coating solution thereby forming an intimate bond between the sugar core and the water-soluble pharmaceutical.