Patent ID: 7976834

Claim:
A method comprising administering to a mammal a pharmaceutical composition, the pharmaceutical comprising: a unimolecular multi-arm block copolymer having the structure: A(—O—B-L 1 C) m′ -(L 2 -D-E) n′ wherein: A is a central core molecule comprising a residue of a polyol selected from the group consisting of glycerol, a reducing sugar, pentaerythritol, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and a glycerol oligomer, O is oxygen, B is a hydrophilic ethylene glycol oligomer chain having a molecular weight of about 100 Da to about 5,000 Da, C is a polypeptide segment, D is a hydrophilic polymer segment selected from the group consisting of poly(alkylene glycols), copolymers of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol, poly(olefinic alcohol), poly(vinylpyrrolidone), poly(hydroxyalkylmethacrylamide), poly(hydroxyalkylmethacrylate), poly(saccharides), poly(α-hydroxy acid), poly(vinyl alcohol), polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline and poly(N-acryloylmorpholine), E is a capping group or a functional group selected from the group consisting of alkoxy, hydroxyl, active ester, active carbonate, acetal, aldehyde, aldehyde hydrate, alkyl or aryl sulfonate, halide, disulfide, alkenyl, acrylate, methacrylate, acrylamide, active sulfone, amine, hydrazide, thiol, carboxylic acid, isocyanate, isothiocyanate, maleimide, vinylsulfone, dithiopyridine, vinylpyridine, iodoacetamide, epoxide, glyoxal, dione, mesylate, tosylate and tresylate, L 1 is a linkage between B and C formed from a chemical reaction, L 2 is a linkage between C and D formed from a chemical reaction, (m′) is 3 to about 25, (n′) is 2 to about 25, and (n′)≦(m′), wherein the unimolecular multi-arm block copolymer has a total molecular weight of about 10,000 Da to about 200,000 Da; and, a biologically active agent entrapped within the inner region of the unimolecular multi-arm block copolymer.