Patent ID: 7872072

Claim:
A biologically active conjugate comprising a branched polymer covalently attached to a biologically active molecule, wherein the conjugate has the structure: D-L 1 -(X) p -R(—O-POLY) q wherein: D is the biologically active molecule; L 1 is a linkage resulting from the reaction of a functional group on the linker (X), when present, or on the aliphatic hydrocarbon having a length of at least three carbon atoms (R) of the branched polymer and a functional group of the biologically active molecule; R is an aliphatic hydrocarbon having a length of at least three carbon atoms; each POLY is a water soluble and non-peptidic polymer that terminates with a hydroxyl or methoxy group; X is a linker of 1 to 10 atoms in length; p is 0 or 1; and q is 2 to about 10, and further wherein the branched polymer has a molecular weight of about 12,000 Da to about 100,000 Da.