Pharmaceutical compositions containing plasma protein

A method of treating cancer comprising parenterally administering to a patient in need thereof an organic solvent-free aqueous solution of a pharmaceutical composition comprising:

• a) as active ingredient a therapeutically effective amount of camptothecin;
• and
• b) human serum albumin;
• where the camptothecin and the human serum albumin are non-covalently bound to each other and where greater than 98% of the camptothecin is bound to the human serum albumin;
• whereby the cancer is treated;
• and where the pharmaceutical composition is obtainable by a process comprising:
• i) dissolving camptothecin in an organic solvent;
• ii) dissolving the human serum albumin in an aqueous solution;
• iii) combining the organic solution of step i) with the aqueous solution of step ii);
• and
• iv) removing the organic solvent by ultrafiltration, dialyzing, diafiltrating, or lyophilizing;
• where if lyophilizing is used to remove the organic solvent, the solid is dissolved in water or an aqueous solution before administration to the patient.

A method of treating cancer comprising parenterally administering to a patient in need thereof an organic solvent-free aqueous solution of a pharmaceutical composition comprising:

• a) as active ingredient a therapeutically effective amount of paclitaxel;
• and
• b) a plasma protein;
• where the paclitaxel and the plasma protein are non-covalently bound to each other and where greater than 98% of the paclitaxel is bound to the plasma protein;
• whereby the cancer is treated;
• and
• where the plasma protein is human serum albumin.

A method of treating cancer comprising parenterally administering to a patient in need thereof an organic solvent-free aqueous solution of a pharmaceutical composition comprising:

• a) as active ingredient a therapeutically effective amount of paclitaxel;
• and
• b) a plasma protein;
• where the paclitaxel and the plasma protein are non-covalently bound to each other and where greater than 98% of the paclitaxel is bound to the plasma protein;
• whereby the cancer is treated;
• and where the pharmaceutical composition is obtainable by a process comprising:
• i) dissolving paclitaxel in an organic solvent;
• ii) dissolving the plasma protein in an aqueous solution;
• iii) combining the organic solution of step i) with the aqueous solution of step ii);
• and
• iv) removing the organic solvent by ultrafiltration, dialyzing, diafiltrating, or lyophilizing to form a solid;
• where if lyophilizing is used to remove the organic solvent, the solid is dissolved in water or an aqueous solution before administration to the patient;
• and
• where the plasma protein is human serum albumin.

A method of treating cancer comprising parenterally administering to a patient in need thereof an organic solvent-free aqueous solution of a pharmaceutical composition comprising:

• a) as active ingredient a therapeutically effective amount of paclitaxel;
• and
• b) a plasma protein;
• where the paclitaxel and the plasma protein are non-covalently bound to each other and where greater than 98% of the paclitaxel is bound to the plasma protein;
• whereby the cancer is treated;
• and
• where the plasma protein is a human immunoglobulin.

A method of treating cancer comprising parenterally administering to a patient in need thereof an organic solvent-free aqueous solution of a pharmaceutical composition comprising:

• a) as active ingredient a therapeutically effective amount of paclitaxel;
• and
• b) a plasma protein;
• where the paclitaxel and the plasma protein are non-covalently bound to each other and where greater than 98% of the paclitaxel is bound to the plasma protein;
• whereby the cancer is treated;
• and where the pharmaceutical composition is obtainable by a process comprising:
• i) dissolving paclitaxel in an organic solvent;
• ii) dissolving the plasma protein in an aqueous solution;
• iii) combining the organic solution of step i) with the aqueous solution of step ii);
• and
• iv) removing the organic solvent by ultrafiltration, dialyzing, diafiltrating, or lyophilizing to form a solid;
• where if lyophilizing is used to remove the organic solvent, the solid is dissolved in water or an aqueous solution before administration to the patient;
• and
• where the plasma protein is a human immunoglobulin.