Pharmaceutical compositions
AssigneeThe School of Pharmacy, University of London
InventorGregory Gregoriadis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Polysaccharides comprising at least 5 sialic acid residues per molecule are used to increase the circulation time of an active ingredient, for instance by decreasing the immunogenicity and/or increasing the stability in vivo of pharmaceutically active compounds. The pharmaceutically active compound may be a foreign protein which is covalently bound to the polysaccharide. Alternatively, the active compound may be associated with a drug delivery system (DDS), for instance a macro-molecular DDS or a particulate DDS, such as liposomes. The polysaccharide is usually a bacterial polysaccharide, e.g., a glycolipid or a derivative thereof, for instance polysaccharide B or E. Coli K1, N. meningitidis, Moraxella liquifaciens or Pasteurella aeroginosis, or K92 of E. Coli K92 strain.
Claims37
A pharmaceutical compositon comprising a pharmaceutically active ingredient associated with a polysaccharide compound in an amount sufficient to extend the availability of the pharmaceutically active ingredient in the circulation of a patient, the polysaccharide compound consisting essentially of a chain of sialic acid units having at least 5 sialic acid units.
A liposome having bound to its external surface a moiety which consists essentially of a chain of sialic acid units having at least 5 sialic acid units.
In a method of producing liposomes from a mixture of liposome-forming lipids, the improvement which comprises of the inclusion of a polysaccharide compound which contains a subunit containing a chain of at least 5 sialic acid units and a hydrophobic portion.
In a method of prolonging the availability of a pharmaceutically active ingredient in the circulation of a patient by combining the pharmaceutically active ingredient with an effective amount of a prolonging agent, the improvement which comprises of employing as the prolonging agent a polysaccharide compound consisting essentially of a chain of sialic acid and having at least 5 sialic acid units.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.