Details for Patent: 5,616,123

Title:	Delivery of solid drug compositions
Abstract:	A method of parenterally administering a drug to a patient for immediate dispersal of the drug once administered by obtaining an anhydrous, solid drug composition consisting essentially of the drug and up to 50%, by weight, of a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein the drug and the carrier are selected and compounded such that the drug is dispersed from the composition upon contact with parenteral fluids and is distributed within the patient's bloodstream according to a blood level profile of the drug that is comparable to a blood level profile of the drug when administered in a liquid formulation, and introducing the solid drug composition into parenteral fluids of the patient.
Inventor(s):	Cheikh; Roland C. (Issy-Les-Moulineaux, FR)
Assignee:	Delab (Paris, FR)
Filing Date:	Jun 02, 1995
Application Number:	08/460,545
Claims:	1. An external, wearable device for the automatic, controlled administration of a solid drug composition to a patient comprising: a housing; a plunger located within said housing; a dispensing tube attached to the outside of said housing, said tube being designed and sized to contain a solid drug composition consisting essentially of the drug and up to 50%, by weight, of a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein the solid drug has a diameter of less than about 0.8 millimeters; an actuator arranged within said housing to move said plunger from said housing into said dispensing tube; a controller that acts on said actuator to regulate the movement of said plunger through said housing and into said dispensing tube; and a power source arranged to provide energy to said actuator and said controller; wherein said plunger is capable of moving the solid drug composition out of said dispensing tube at a controlled rate. 2. A device of claim 1, wherein said controller comprises an electrical motor, and said power source is a battery. 3. A device of claim 2, wherein said controller further comprises a microcomputer programmed with a predetermined delivery profile to provide said controlled rate of delivery. 4. A device of claim 1, wherein said actuator comprises two rotating wheels arranged to contact and move said plunger into said dispensing tube. 5. A device of claim 1, wherein said housing has a size of less than 3.0 cm and a thickness of less than 0.5 cm. 6. A method of automatically administering a drug to a patient according to a predetermined delivery profile comprising: (a) obtaining a device of claim 1; (b) loading a solid drug composition into said dispensing tube; (c) inserting said dispensing tube into the patient; (d) programming said controller of said device to cause said actuator to move said plunger through said dispensing tube according to a predetermined delivery profile; (e) providing energy to said controller and said actuator to move said plunger within said dispensing tube to move the solid drug composition out of said dispensing tube and into the patient to deliver said drug to body fluids of the patient according to a predetermined delivery profile. 7. A method of claim 6, wherein said device is attached to the patient's skin with an adhesive. 8. A device of claim 1, wherein said dispensing tube is designed and sized to contain a cylindrical solid drug composition having a diameter of 0.1 to 0.8 millimeters.