Patent ID: 6946145

Claim:
A micellar pharmaceutical composition for the delivery of a hydrophobic or water-insoluble active agent, comprising the active agent physically entrapped within but not covalently bonded to a drug carrier comprising a block copolymer of formula X, formula Y, or formula Z: R A —[OCH 2 CH 2 ] f -[POE] g -H (X), R A —[OCH 2 CH 2 ] f -[POE] g -[OCH 2 CH 2 ] h —OR B (Y), H—A-[POE] g -[OCH 2 CH 2 ] h -[POE] j -H (Z), where: R A is C 1 -C 4 alkyl; R B is C 1 -C 4 alkyl; f and h are independently an integer from 2 to 1000; g and j are independently an integer from 2 to 200; POE is a poly(ortho ester) unit of formula IA or formula IIA: where R* is a C 1 -C 4 alkyl; R is a bond, —(CH 2 )—, or —(CH 2 ) b —O—(CH 2 ) c —; where a is an integer of 1 to 10, and b and c are independently integers of 1 to 5; and each A is independently selected from R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 , where R 1 is: where: p is an integer of 1 to 20; R 5 is hydrogen or C 1 -C 4 alkyl; and R 6 is: where: s is an integer of 0 to 30; t is an integer of 2 to 200; and R 7 is hydrogen or C 1 -C 4 alkyl; R 2 is: R 3 is: where: x is an integer of 0 to 30; y is an integer of 2 to 200; R 8 is hydrogen or C 1 -C 4 alkyl; R 9 and R 10 are independently C 1 -C 12 alkylene; R 11 is hydrogen or C 1 -C 6 alkyl and R 12 is C 1 -C 6 alkyl; or R 11 and R 12 together are C 3 -C 10 alkylene; and R 4 is the residue of a diol containing at least one amine functionality incorporated therein; in which at least 0.1 mol % of the A units are R 1 , and at least 0.1 mol % of the A units are R 4 .