Patent ID: 8399007

Claim:
A method for making a drug formulation comprising a polymer and a drug which is uniformly distributed in the polymer, the polymer being a crystalline side chain (CYSC) polymer which: (A) comprises a plurality of repeating units having the formula: where R′ is hydrogen or methyl, and Cy is a moiety comprising an n-alkyl moiety containing 18-24 carbon atoms; (B) has a crystalline melting temperature (Tp) of at least 40° C., an onset-of-melting temperature (To) such that Tp−To is less than Tp 0.7 , and a heat of fusion of at least 5 J/g; (C) has a number average molecular weight (Mn) less than 10,000; (D) is a random copolymer comprising two or more randomly polymerized monomers; and (E) is not cross-linked; wherein the polymer comprises an alkylated hyaluronic acid or hydrolysed hyaluronic acid polymer structure; the method comprising the steps of (1) distributing the drug in the polymer by mixing the drug with the polymer while the polymer is at a temperature above its crystalline melting temperature, and (2) cooling the mixture.