A STABILIZING AGENT AND AN INJECTABLE COMPOSITION CONTAINING THE SAME

Abstract: The present invention relates to a stabilizing agent comprising sodium chloride which improves the storage stability and re-solubility of a tetracyclo compound of the formula: and to processes for preparation thereof.

Description: This invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising sodium chloride and a tetracyclo compound which is of value as a drug. More particularly, this invention relates, in one aspect, to a pharmaceutical composition comprising sodium chloride and a tetracyclo compound of the formula: wherein R¹, R² and R³ each means a (C₁-C₆) alkanoyl group and, in another aspect, to an injectable composition comprising said tetracyclo compound (I) and sodium chloride. In the manufacture of injectable pharmaceutical preparations, it is a well-known practice to add sodium chloride for isotonization purposes but the addition of sodium chloride for improving the storage stability and/or re-solubility of the active ingredient is new to the industry. Since the administration of a drug by injection insures the systemic effect of the drug without involving the gastrointestinal tract, this method of administration is very frequently relied on in clinical practice as a method for assuring the most positive therapeutic efficacy against various diseases. However, since it is not rare that a fairly long interval is involved between the manufacture of a drug and the administration of it to a patient, the efficacy and safety of the drug must be impeccably assured notwithstanding a prolonged storage period. The efficacy and safety of a drug depends in a large measure on its stability and in order that a pharmaceutical preparation may be a useful drug product, its stability is an important factor. The tetracyclo compound (I) as an active ingredient of the injectable composition of this invention is a very useful drug as such but has the drawback in terms of stability that it is unstable in solution on the one hand and, when lyophilized and stored, tends to be degraded and become poor in re-solubility on the other hand. The inventors of this invention found, after intensive and diligent research, that sodium chloride not only improves the stability of tetracyclo compound (I) remarkably but also improves the re-solubility of the drug and implemented the findings into this invention. It is, therefore, and object of this invention to provide a pharmaceutical composition comprising sodium chloride and tetracyclo compound (I). It is another object of this invention to provide an injectable composition characterized by comprising said tetracyclo compound (I) and, as a stabilizing agent therefor, sodium chloride. The tetracyclo compound (I) used as an active ingredient in this invention is of value as a drug, for example as an antitumor agent or an antimicrobial agent, and is a known compound together with the process for production thereof, as described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10590/1986, for instance. Particularly the compound (I) wherein R¹, R² and R³ are acetyl groups has been named FR-66973 Substance and is known to have high antitumor activity. (FR-66973 Substance) Suitable examples of the lower alkanoyl group for R¹, R² and R³ in tetracyclo compound (I) include, in addition to acetyl mentioned above, other aliphatic acyl groups of 1 to 6 carbon atoms such as formyl, propionyl, butyryl, isobutyryl, valeryl, isovaleryl, pivaloyl, hexanoyl and so on. Preferred are C₁-C₄ alkanoyl groups, acetyl being the most desirable group. While the tetracyclo compound (I) may include one or more stereoisomers such as optical isomers due to the asymmetric carbon atom(s), such isomers are also subsumed in the context of this invention. For the purposes of this invention, sodium chloride may be of any grade as long as it can be incorporated in injectable composition. In the injectable composition of this invention, there may be incorporated, in addition to sodium chloride, other stabilizers, isotonizing agents such as mannitol and xylitol and, if necessary, even other additives such as pH adjusting agents or buffers. The pharmaceutical composition and the injectable composition of this invention can be manufactured by the established pharmaceutical procedure which is capable of mixing said tetracyclo compound (I) and sodium chloride homogenously. For example, such a composition can be obtained by dissolving tetracyclo compound (I) in water, an organic solvent such as acetone, dioxane, acetonitrile, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof, then adding the stabilizing agent sodium chloride, and if necessary adding an appropriate amount of water thereto to provide a homogenous solution and lyophilizing the resulting solution. In the injectable composition of this invention, the relative amount of tetracyclo compound (I) and sodium chloride is not critical but the proportion of sodium chloride should be sufficient to improve the stability of tetracyclo compound (I). However, to prepare an isotonic solution in a total volume suited to administration, the weight ratio of tetracyclo compound to sodium chloride is preferably 1:2 through 1:50 and more desirably 1:5 through 1:30. By virtue of the stabilizing agent of this invention, the storage stability of the active ingredient tetracyclo compound (I) is remarkably improved and, at the same time, the re-solubility of the same after storage is also markedly improved. The following,examples are merely illustrative and by no means limitative of this invention. Example 1 FR-66973 Substance (5 mg) and sodium chloride JP (45 mg) were added to acetone (0.25 ml) followed by addition of distilled water for injection to make 1 ml. After dissolution at 20°C, the solution was aseptically filtered through a Teflon filter. The filtrate was filled into a vial and lyophilized to give an injectable composition containing the above ingredients. Example 2 In the same manner as Example 1, an injectable composition containing the above-mentioned ingredients was obtained. To prepare an injection from each of the injectable composition obtained in Examples 1 and 2, a suitable amount of distilled water for injection can be added to the injectable composition to make it isotonic to the blood and the resulting isotonic solution can be administered. Test Examples To prove the storage stability-improving effect of sodium chloride on tetracyclo compound (I), the following storage stability test was performed. [A] Storage stability test Using the injectable compositions obtained in Examples 1 and 2 as test materials, and for purposes of comparison, a lyophilized product containing FR-66973 Substance (5 mg) only was used as a control material. Each material was stored under the various conditions indicated in Table 1 and the residual amount of FR-66973 Substance was determined by the following method. [Method of determination] Each sample was dissolved using a 28% aqueous solution of acetonitrile (total volume 50 ml) and FR-66973 Substance was assayed by liquid chromatography on octadecylsilylized silicone-coated silica gel using a perchlorate buffer containing 28% acetonitrile as an eluent. The results are shown in Table 1. [B] Re-solubility test The test was performed using the injectable composition of Example 1 as a test material and a lyophilizate containing FR-66973 Substance (5 mg) alone as a control material. Each material was stored under the various conditions shown in Table 2 and, then, distilled water for injection (5 ml) was added. The mixture was shaken and the state of dissolution was examined with the naked eye after a given time period. For further confirmation of solubilizing effect, the re-solubility of the injectable composition of Example 1 and that of the control immediately after preparation was also investigated. The results are shown in Table 2. It is apparent from the above results of the storage stability and re-solubility tests that the addition of sodium chloride markedly improves the storage stability and re-solubility of tetracyclo compound (I) and that an injectable composition with improved storage stability and re-solubility can be obtained by adding sodium chloride as a stabilizing agent.

Claims: 1. A stabilizing agent comprising sodium chloride which improves the storage stability and re-solubility of a tetracyclo compound of the formula: wherein R¹, R² and R³ each means a lower alkanoyl group. 2. The stabilizing agent claimed in Claim 1, wherein R¹, R² and R³ each is an acetyl group. 3. An injectable composition comprising a tetracyclo compound of the formula: wherein R¹, R² and R³ each means a lower alkanoyl group, and sodium chloride. 4. The injectable composition claimed in Claim 3, wherein the weight ratio of tetracyclo compound to sodium chloride is about 1:2 through about 1:50. 5. The injectable composition claimed in Claim 4, wherein R¹, R² and R³ each is an acetyl group. 6. A process for producing an injectable composition which comprises mixing a tetracyclo compound of the formula: wherein R¹, R² and R³ each means a lower alkanoyl group, and sodium chloride homogenously. 7. The process for producing an injectable composition claimed in Claim 6, wherein the weight ratio of tetracyclo compound to sodium chloride is about 1:2 through about 1:50. 8. The process for producing an injectable composition claimed in Claim 7, which comprises dissolving said tetracyclo compound and sodium chloride in a solvent, and lyophilizing the resulting solution. 9. The process for producing an injectable composi­ tion claimed in Claim 8, wherein R¹, R² and R³ each is an acetyl group. 10. A method for improving the storage stability and re-solubility of a tetracyclo compound of the formula: wherein R¹, R² and R³ each means a lower alkanoyl group, which comprises mixing said tetracyclo compound and sodium chloride homogenously. 11. The method claimed in Claim 10, wherein the weight ratio of tetracyclo compound to sodium chloride is about 1:2 through about 1:50. 12. The method claimed in Claim 11, which comprises dissolving said tetracyclo compound and sodium chloride in a solvent, and lyophilizing the resulting solution. 13. The method claimed in Claim 12, wherein R¹, R² and R³ each is an acetyl group.

Inventors: IMASAKI, TAKSHI, MOCHIZUKI, YOSHIAKI, NASU, HIROSHI
Applicants: FUJISAWA PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A61K47
IPC codes: A61K9, A61K47, A61K31