Pharmaceutical formulations for preventing drug tolerance

A controlled-release pharmaceutical formulation for once-per-day oral administration, comprising sugar spheres or nonpareils including an isosorbide mononitrate;

• and a diffusion control membrane surrounding the spheres or nonpareils comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable, film forming polymer, the film forming polymer being present in an amount effective to permit release of the isosorbide mononitrate from the sugar spheres or nonpareils, over a 24 hour dosing period, at a rate of release that achieves a therapeutically effective level of the isosorbide mononitrate for at least 12 hours after administration of the pharmaceutical formulation, while providing less that therapeutically effective levels of the isosorbide mononitrate for the remainder of the 24 hour dosing period so as not to induce tolerance in a patient administered the pharmaceutical formulation once every 24 hours.

A method of preventing the onset of nitrate tolerance in a human undergoing nitrate therapy, which comprises:

• administering a tablet or capsule containing an isosrbide monoitrate blended with nonpareils or sugar spheres, to the human over a 24 hour dosing period so as to achieve therapeutically effective levels of the an isosrbide monoitrate about 12 hours, followed by less than therapeutically effective levels of the isosrbide monoitrate for the remainder of the 24hour dosing period.

A method of treating a human with an isosrbide monoitrate without inducing nitrate tolerance, which comprises:

• administering a tablet or capsule containing at least one isosrbide monoitrate blended with nonpareils or sugar spheres, to the human over a 24 hour dosing period so as to achieve therapeutically effective levels of the isosrbide monoitrate for at least about 12 hours, followed by less than therapeutically effective levels of the isosrbide monoitrate for the remainder of the 24 hour dosing period.

A method of treating a human by the once-per-day oral administration of organic nitrate comprising:

• orally administering once during each 24 hour time period a controlled-release organic nitrate formulation comprising spheres having a core including sugar spheres coated with an isosorbide mononitrate;
• and a diffusion control membrane surrounding said core comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable, film forming polymer, the film forming polymer being present in an amount effective to permit release of the isosorbide mononitrate from said spheres, over a 24 hour dosing period, at a rate of release that achieves a therapeutically effective level of the isosorbide mononitrate for at least 12 hours after administration of the formulation, while providing less than therapeutically effective levels of the isosorbide mononitrate for the remainder of the 24 hour dosing period so as not to induce nitrate tolerance in a human patient administered the nitrate formulation once every 24 hours.