Patent ID: 8124057

Claim:
A method for making a propellant-based dry powder composition, comprising: (a) obtaining dry powder of a nanoparticulate drug composition; and then (b) dispersing the dry powder in at least one propellant, wherein the nanoparticulate drug composition: (i) comprises a poorly soluble drug, (ii) has an effective average particle size of less than 1000 nm or equal to about 1000 nm, and (iii) has a surface modifier adsorbed on the surface of the drug particles, and wherein step (a) comprises: (i) forming an aqueous nanoparticulate dispersion of the drug and surface modifier; and (ii) spray-drying or freeze-drying the nanoparticulate dispersion to form a dry powder of spherically shaped aggregates of the nanoparticulate drug and surface modifier, wherein the aggregates have a diameter of less than 100 microns or equal to about 100 microns.