Patent ID: 7169754

Claim:
A liquid pharmaceutical composition in the form of an aqueous solution comprising: (a) an erythropoietin glycoprotein conjugate comprising an erythropoietin protein having at least one free amino group and having the sequence SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, or having either of said sequences modified by the addition of from 1 to 6 glycosylation sites or by rearrangement of at least one glycosylation site; said erythropoietin protein being covalently linked to from one to three lower-alkoxy poly(ethylene glycol) groups with each poly(ethylene glycol) group being covalently linked to the erythropoietin via a linker of the formula —C(O)—X—S—Y— with the C(O) of the linker forming an amide bond with one of said amino groups; X is —(CH 2 ) k — or —CH 2 (O—CH 2 —CH 2 ) k —; k is from 1 to 10; Y is selected from the average molecular weight of each poly(ethylene glycol) moiety being from about 20 kilodaltons to about 40 kilodaltons; and wherein the molecular weight of the erythropoietin conjugate is from about 51 kilodaltons to about 175 kilodaltons, and wherein the amount of erythropoietin protein is from 10 μg per ml to about 10,000 μg per ml of solution; (b) from 10 to 200 mmol per liter of solution of a multiple charged inorganic anion; and (c) a pharmaceutically acceptable buffer; said anion and said buffer being present in said solution in an amount to provide the solution with a pH of from 5.5 to about 7.0, said liquid composition being stable at room temperature.