Patent ID: 6419959
Filing Date: 2002-07-16
Classification: A61K,A61P

Abstract:
An orally administrable pharmaceutical composition comprising particles comprising an opioid antagonist selected from naloxone, N-methylnaloxone, and N-methylnaltrexone, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, as an active ingredient, in an amount sufficient for the treatment or prevention of opioid-induced constipation, the composition comprising at least two types of particles, a first type of particles releasing the active ingredient in a pH-independent manner on contact with an aqueous medium or releasing the active ingredient as a function of a different ambient pH around the particles, the pH being that found within the stomach or duodenum,and a second type of particles releasing the active ingredient as a function of a different ambient pH around the particles, the pH being that found within the lower intestine, such that the active ingredient is released over the entire intestine, where at least the second type of particles comprise a coating which is soluble as a function of the ambient pH and comprises one or more film-forming substances selected from methacrylic acid copolymers.