Patent ID: 7494669

Claim:
A solid pharmaceutical composition for the delivery of a physiologically active agent to an animal comprising: a. one or more physiologically active agents selected from the group consisting of peptides, proteins, vaccines comprising one or more antigens, dead cells in whole or in part, and viruses in whole or in part, in an amount effective to induce a physiological response in the animal; b. one or more Aloe pectins having a degree of methylation less than about 50% and in an amount of about 0.25% to about 2%, based on the total weight of the solid pharmaceutical composition; and c. one or more solid, pharmaceutically acceptable salts of a divalent or multivalent metal cation; wherein the pharmaceutical composition is in a powder form that forms a gel when contacted with a tissue or body fluid of an animal, and wherein the powder comprises a plurality of microparticles and/or microspheres having a particle size that permits the microparticles or microspheres to pass through a sieve having an opening size of about 250 μM in diameter.