Patent ID: 11918688
Assignee: PACIRA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Field: Pharmaceuticals (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 1:
2. A method of reducing an amount of a non-opioid analgesic administered to a subject following hip treatment, the method comprising administering to the subject a pharmaceutical composition comprising multivesicular liposomes encapsulating bupivacaine phosphate, said multivesicular liposomes comprising:
bupivacaine or a salt thereof;
phosphoric acid;
a lipid component comprising at least one amphipathic lipid and at least one neutral lipid lacking a hydrophilic head group; and,
optionally, a cholesterol and/or a plant sterol wherein said multivesicular liposomes are made by a process comprising:
a) preparing a first aqueous component comprising phosphoric acid;
b) preparing a lipid component comprising at least one organic solvent, at least one amphipathic lipid, and at least one neutral lipid lacking a hydrophilic head group;
c) mixing said first aqueous component and said lipid component to form a water-in-oil emulsion, wherein at least one component comprises bupivacaine or a salt thereof;
d) mixing said water-in-oil emulsion with a second aqueous component to form solvent spherules; and
e) removing the organic solvent from the solvent spherules to form multivesicular liposomes encapsulating bupivacaine phosphate,
wherein the pharmaceutical composition is administered by a needle injection, wherein a needle tip is located at a distal end of the injection needle and wherein the needle tip is advanced in a cephalad-to-caudad and lateral-to-medial direction away from a musculofascial plane between the psoas tendon and the pubic ramus, and wherein administering the composition occurs while the needle tip is located lateral to the psoas tendon such that the needle tip is positioned between the anterior inferior iliac spine and psoas tendon.