EP3079662A1

EP3079662A1 - Novel process for producing transmucosal pharmaceutical formulations and formulations thus obtained

Info

Publication number: EP3079662A1
Application number: EP14824036.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Patrice Binay
Original assignee: Clemann Group
Current assignee: Clemann Group
Priority date: 2013-12-11
Filing date: 2014-12-10
Publication date: 2016-10-19
Also published as: WO2015086918A1; WO2015086918A9; FR3014317A1; FR3014317B1; US20160361251A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a novel process for producing transmucosal pharmaceutical formulations and to formulations thus obtained. The process relates to the preparation of grains comprising a thermolabile substance as active ingredient, and consists in dissolving said substance in a ternary mixture composed of two amphiphilic binders, the melting point of which is between 40 and 60°C, and of an aqueous solvent such as, in particular, water, an aqueous-alcoholic solution or a water-soluble solvent. The grains thus obtained comprise a thermolabile active substance, two amphiphilic binders and an inert carrier. Use in obtaining translingual tablets wherein the thermolabile active substance is adrenalin.

Description

New process for manufacturing transmucosal pharmaceutical formulations and formulations obtained thereby

The present invention relates to a new process for the manufacture of transmucosal pharmaceutical formulations, as well as the formulations thus obtained.

More specifically, the process according to the invention and the formulations obtained relate to thermolabile active ingredients, that is to say capable of being degraded by heat.

Even more specifically, the thermolabile active ingredients used in the formulations obtained by the method according to the invention are chosen from the group of hormones, proteins, allergens or triptans, since these substances are sensitive to heat. These active ingredients are known to be fragile, so that the traditional methods of manufacturing pharmaceutical formulations containing them are not suitable because they lead to their degradation.

It is known from patent EP0553169 to implement a melt granulation process for the production of granules containing active principles at high dosage, the first step of the process consisting of a mechanical mixture of the active ingredient and a binder having a melting point in the range of 40 ° C to 100 ° C, preferably 40 ° C to 70 ° C. In this patent, all the active ingredients mentioned are carboxylic acids or salts of these acids. According to the teaching of this patent, there is no dissolution of the active ingredient in the binder in molten form, but a simple mechanical mixing of said active ingredient and the aforementioned binder.

The purpose of the process according to the invention is, in contrast to the aforementioned process, to dissolve the active ingredient in a binder with a low melting point.

A first test was therefore carried out, aimed at dissolving the active ingredient in a binder in which the binder was an amphiphilic polymer of the polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1500 stearate type, hereinafter referred to as 1500 stearate, and the active ingredient is the adrenaline tartrate.

The first heating shows the melting of the polymer (endotherm at 50 ° C), followed by a plateau up to 116 ° C: beyond this, an endotherm starts up to the tartrate melting temperature adrenaline at 150 ° C.

During cooling, a resolidification exotherm is evidenced (peak at 22 ° C). At the end of the analysis, the sample is redder the more the temperature has been raised during the test; this hue corresponds to the degradation of adrenaline to adrenochrome at the end of the test, demonstrating oxidative degradation. The adrenaline-polymer system is unstable beyond 116 ° C. This presents a difficulty related to the thermal sensitivity of adrenaline.

Consequently, it seems difficult to develop a reliable and robust process using only a polymer of the stearate 1500 type. More particularly during the increase of scale of the process, the contact times allowing the dissolution of the adrenaline bitartrate in the medium are increased proportionally, further promoting the formation of adrenochrome.

It thus seemed essential to carry out a dissolution of the active ingredient at a much lower temperature, of the order of 50 ° C, in order to avoid the degradation of adrenaline.

After various unsuccessful attempts, it was chosen to dissolve adrenaline in a mixture of two amphiphilic polymers, namely the stearate 1500 mentioned above, and the TPGS (polyethylene glycol 1000 ester of da-tocopheryl succinate), having a point of melting at around 40 ° C. Stearate 1500, TPGS and adrenaline bitartrate are all soluble in water (whereas water is poorly soluble in TPGS).

Another possibility is to go through the intermediate formation of an aqueous solution in which the polymer and adrenaline are dissolved. A soluble mannitol or insoluble microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) type support is added to the aqueous solution. The water contained in this mixture is then removed by a lyophilization-type low-temperature drying technique or by the use of a speedvac® type centrifugal evaporator so as not to degrade the adrenaline present. It leads to the formation of a compact white mass which is then milled and sieved after drying to give a grain of homogeneous appearance.

More specifically, the procedure was as follows:

In a 250 ml wide-mouthed flask equipped with magnetic stirring and heated with a water bath, add about 2.50 g of accurately weighed TPGS and heat to complete melting of the polymer (40 ° C). Add 50 ml of distilled water at 40 ° C. with stirring until a homogeneous solution of the polymer in water is obtained. Cool the solution to room temperature.

Separately prepare a solution of 2.27 g of adrenaline bitartrate (equivalent to 1.25 g of adrenaline base) in 5 ml of distilled water.

Add the latter to the polymer solution and stir for 2 minutes to obtain a homogeneous solution. 20.23 g of mannitol are gradually introduced with spatula and with stirring to the adrenaline-polymer solution maintained at 45 ° C ± 5 ° C. Maintain agitation for another 5 minutes after complete addition of mannitol and allow to cool to room temperature.

The resulting mixture is then placed in a vacuum centrifuge overnight. 25 g of a white compact mass are obtained after drying which is then milled and sieved to give a homogeneous grain.

The HPLC analysis is in accordance with the adrenaline content namely 5.0% w / w (equivalent based on the dry matter). The loss on drying is between 0.2 and 0.3% for grains from mannitol.

Preliminary tests with both stearate 1500 and TPGS yielded quite satisfactory results from a qualitative point of view. Indeed the analyzes confirm the absence of degradation of the asset. However, although this process makes it possible to produce a grain of satisfactory quality, the process used goes through a relatively long and unproductive drying / evaporation step. This is due to the presence of water in a relatively large amount in the mixture. In addition, adrenaline in aqueous solution is relatively unstable. It is probable that the increase of scale of such a process implies longer times and thus the possible formation of adrenochrome.

After various unsuccessful attempts, it has been envisaged to dissolve adrenaline in TPGS / stearate 1500 / water ternary mixture.

The first step was to check the feasibility of this ternary mixture.

The addition of a reduced amount of water in the TPGS leads to the formation of a very viscous and heterogeneous gel (presence of lumps).

The increase in temperature of the mixture provides no benefit and does not give a homogeneous mass. Worse the gel composed of TPGS and water has a "melting point" much higher than that of TPGS alone. After several attempts under various conditions of addition of water, this route was abandoned.

On the other hand, TPGS and stearate 1500 are miscible in all proportions. Above 45 ° C these 2 polymers melt and mix without any difficulty to form a homogeneous and stable mass.

It has therefore been attempted to take advantage of the complementary physical properties of these two polymers. An equimassic mixture of TPGS and 1500 stearate added with a volume of water leads to the formation of a viscous and white mass whose consistency is similar to that of soft soap that can not be used in the state.

After several unsuccessful attempts involving varying proportions of the two polymers, the optimal conditions were determined, allowing to dissolve a volume of water in a mixture composed of 90% 1500 stearate and 10% TPGS. After adding a volume of water at 50 ° C., a homogeneous ternary mixture of TPGS stearate 1500 and water was obtained. Good results are obtained by using, at the level of the binary mixture stearate 1500 / TPGS (reference being made to the masses of the components) between 75% and 95%, preferably between 80% and 90%, 1500 stearate and between 5% and 25%. %, preferably between 10% and 20%, of TPGS.

This ternary when brought to 50 ° C has a similar appearance and is handled identically to the two aforementioned polymers in the molten state.

The second step consisted in producing a solid solution of adrenaline bitartrate in the aforementioned ternary mixture.

Since adrenaline bitartrate is a very water-soluble compound, it was first necessary to check whether it was possible to directly dissolve solid adrenaline bitartrate in said ternary mixture.

For this purpose, 10 g of ternary mixture are prepared from 4.50 g of 1500 stearate, 500 mg of TPGS and 5 g of water at 50 ° C. This mixture is kept at 50 ° C. with stirring for 5 minutes. 4.54 g of powdered adrenaline bitartrate (equivalent to 2.5 g of adrenaline base) are then added. The dissolution is total and fast. After only a few seconds with stirring the mixture becomes translucent and homogeneous.

In addition, a granular carrier was directly added to this melt. The supports selected are mannitol and ProSolv 90.

Mannitol is a soluble carrier. However, assuming that the previous mixture contains a limited amount of water, it should be checked whether the grain will be handled after drying, which would open the way to obtaining a fully soluble sublingual tablet.

The tests carried out in this perspective make it possible to obtain a homogeneous mass. Despite the relatively large amount of mannitol (40.46 g) for 14.54 g of the water and adrenaline polymer solution, the whole remains quite tacky. After drying under vacuum at 25 ° C for 24 hours we obtained a mass that no longer sticks. After grinding and sieving a perfectly homogeneous grain is obtained. The HPLC analysis of this test is in accordance with the expectations namely 5.0% w / w of adrenaline (equivalent based on the dry matter). The loss on drying is between 0.2 and 0.3% for grains from mannitol.

Preferably, the grains obtained according to the method described above and coming within the scope of the present invention will comprise between 0.5% and 10% equivalent epinephrine base, 35% to 45% 1500 stearate, 2% to 10% TPGS and 40% to 60% mannitol.

In parallel, several tests were carried out with an insoluble support based on ProSolv 90. This excipient consists of 98% MCC (microcrystalline cellulose) and 2% colloidal silica. It makes it much easier to obtain a very homogeneous and non-sticky grain; a drying step identical to the mannitol-based tests has nevertheless been carried out. HPLC analysis is also consistent with the adrenaline content of 5.0% w / w (equivalent based on the dry matter). On the other hand, although the macroscopic appearance of the grain obtained is of a more fluid appearance, it contains more water. The desiccation loss of these tests is between 1.7 and 6.2% depending on the tests and drying times provided. This is explained by the presence of the colloidal silica contained in this excipient which forms a hydrate. In addition, the tablets that will be obtained from this formula will not be fully soluble. This does not compromise the effectiveness of the sublingual tablet.

An example will now be given, without limitation of production of a sublingual tablet obtained from previously obtained grains, where the support is mannitol. The sublingual tablet envisaged comprises 5 mg of adrenaline (base equivalent) for a tablet of 200 to 300 mg with a disintegration time as short as possible and not exceeding 3 minutes.

Various mixtures were made using a Turbula mixer (Type IIC), with

45 rpm, for 10 minutes.

The compression operation is performed on a conventional compression machine. To facilitate the analysis of the compression parameters, a set of cylindrical geometry punches with a diameter 11, 28 mm or a surface of 1 cm ² , planar and not chamfered, is used. The height of the compression chamber at the time of filling is set to obtain the desired mass of the tablets. The tablets thus produced and analyzed are of course only prototypes, and do not have the final geometric characteristics. The press is equipped with two sensors for measuring the forces that the powder bed exerts on the upper and lower punches, as well as a sensor for moving the upper punch.

The tablets produced are individually weighed, and their dimensions and their diametric breaking strength are measured on a Kraemer EL Ektronik HP 97 type durometer.

The content uniformity test was performed under the terms of the European Pharmacopoeia ^5th edition (2.9.5). It covers 10 tablets, individually weighed products.

The friability test was carried out on PTF E / ER (Pharmatest) according to the methods of the European Pharmacopoeia 5 ^th edition (2.9.7), on the tablets produced for each of the formulas.

The disintegration test was performed on PTZ (Pharmatest) under the terms of the European Pharmacopoeia ^5th edition (2.9.1). The size of the tablets does not exceed 18 mm, the test is carried out on 6 tablets.

The sublingual tablets which are the subject of the present invention and obtained from the grains described above must comply with a number of constraints: hardness, friability, disintegration time, cohesion in particular.

As a preference, ProSolv will be used as an excipient; this product is a multifunctional composite excipient based on 98% microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and 2% colloidal silica. These pharmacotechnical properties allow in difficult cases to increase very significantly the cohesion of the system. Moreover, this excipient, if it is not water-soluble, nevertheless remains very hydrophilic.

A first mixture of 25 g of grain and 15 g of ProSolv 90 made it possible to obtain tablets having valuable pharmacotechnical properties. The system is thus very cohesive and the average hardness of the tablets obtained from this mixture is between 9 _> 5 and 11 Kp depending on the consolidation force applied.

A friability test on 10 tablets shows a friability rate of 0.16% quite satisfactory. On the other hand the time of disintegration of these tablets is too important since it is close to 8 mn.

This is why it is advantageous to provide a disintegrant, such as for example starch glycolate (Explotab). This one acts according to 2 complementary mechanisms of disintegration namely, by capillarity by favoring the penetration of the water in the compressed when in the mouth and then swelling favoring rapid disintegration of the tablet.

The addition of Explotab (starch glycolate) in a range of between 2 and 4% made it possible to obtain a disintegration time compatible with the fixed objective, that is to say less than 3 minutes. On the other hand, all things being equal, it is known that the addition of a disintegrant reduces the hardness of the tablet. It should be noted that the disintegration time varies very strongly for the same mixing composition with the applied consolidation force. There is therefore an optimum to be determined between the applied consolidation force making it possible to obtain cohesion and a satisfactory hardness while allowing a disintegration time compatible with the aforementioned constraints.

As an indication, the following formulation meets the different constraints for a sublingual tablet:

Saccharin does not bring any benefit from a pharmacotechnical point of view, however it appeared that a tablet manufactured without saccharin had an unpleasant bitter taste. The amount of saccharin added (0.8%) masked this bitterness.

Starting from the mixture shown in the table, a sublingual tablet of approximately 300 mg was made.

The same process as that described for adrenaline has been successfully resumed with another thermosensitive substance in this case the recombinant allergen rBetvl, allergen characteristic of trees of the order of fagales and in particular birch.

An example of preparation of a formulation whose active ingredient is rBetvl will now be given.

In an Erlenmeyer flask equipped with magnetic stirring, 1.80 g of 1500 and 200 mg of TPGS stearate are mixed at 50 ° C. with stirring for 3 minutes in order to form a homogeneous and intimate mixture of the two polymers. The mixture is then cooled slowly to 40 ° C. The oil obtained remains fluid and translucent.

1 ml of aqueous solution of rBetvl is then prepared at a concentration of 3 mg / ml. The dissolution is rapid and the resulting solution of rBetvl remains clear at room temperature.

1 ml of this solution is then introduced into the preceding molten polymer mixture maintained at 40 ° C. The dissolution is total and fast. After stirring for a few seconds, the mixture becomes translucent and homogeneous.

In addition, 8.0 g of mannitol (type Mannogen EZ for example) is added directly to this melt.

Mannitol is a water-soluble carrier, however the previous mixture contains a limited amount of water that does not allow the dissolution of mannitol. This gives a homogeneous mass which is dried under reduced pressure at 25 ° C for 24 hours to form a grain which after grinding and sieving is perfectly homogeneous.

Using this same process with the aforementioned ranges of 1500 stearate and

TPGS for forming the binary mixture of amphiphilic binders, it is also possible to obtain formulations containing thermolabile active principles other than adrenaline or rBetvl, such as for example triptans which are drugs intended for the acute treatment of seizures of migraine. Likewise, the process which is the subject of the invention applies to allergens and proteins sensitive to heat.

While remaining within the scope of the present invention, various variants could be tested at the level of the ternary mixture; thus, in addition to the two amphiphilic linkers, there is provided a third component which, in the examples given for adrenaline and rBetvl, is water. In addition to water, an aqueous solvent, such as a hydroalcoholic solution or a water-soluble solvent, is very suitable. By water-soluble solvent is meant in the present invention any water-soluble solvent of class III (within the meaning of the guidelines of the "European Medicines Agency" on residual solvents.

As regards the grains obtained according to the process which is the subject of the present invention, it is important during their drying not to degrade them; for this purpose drying by lyophilization or drying under reduced pressure at a temperature not exceeding 30 ° C gives excellent results.

In addition the aforementioned grains can be compressed into sublingual tablets, as has been described for adrenaline bitartrate.

Claims

1. Grain comprising:

at. a thermolabile active substance selected from the group consisting of hormones, proteins, allergens.

b. two amphiphilic binders whose melting temperature is between 40 and 60 ° C

vs. an inert support

2. Grain according to claim 1 characterized in that said hormone is adrenaline.

3. Grain according to claim 1 characterized in that said allergen is rBetvl.

4. Grain according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that said amphiphilic binders are stearate 1500 and TPGS.

5. Grain according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the inert carrier is mannitol.

6. Grain according to claims 2, 4 and 5 characterized in that it presents the

following mass proportions:

at. 0.5% to 10% equivalent adrenaline base

b. 35% to 45% 1500 stearate

vs. 2% to 10% TPGS

d. 40% to 60% mannitol

7. Process for the preparation of grains according to any one of claims 1 to 6 characterized in that it consists in dissolving said thermolabile active substance in a ternary mixture composed of said two amphiphilic binders and an aqueous solvent such as, in particular, water, a hydroalcoholic solution or a water-soluble solvent, and then to incorporate the inert carrier therein.

8. Process according to claim 7, characterized in that the two amphiphilic binders are stearate 1500 and TPGS.

9. The method of claim 8 characterized in that the stearate 1500 is between 75% and 95% by weight of said binary mixture and the TPGS between 5% and 25%.

10. The method of claim 9 characterized in that the stearate 1500 is between 80% and 90% by weight of said binary mixture and TPGS between 10% and 20%.

11. Method according to any one of claims 7 to 10 characterized in that said inert support is mannitol.