Patent ID: 7691407

Claim:
A multi-component pharmaceutical dosage form which comprises: a plurality of sub-units, each sub-unit being selected from the group consisting of: a linker, a closure cap, a drug substance-containing capsule compartment which is soluble or disintegrable in a patient's gastrointestinal environment for release of the drug substance contained in the capsule compartment, and a solid matrix comprising a polymer and containing a drug substance, the polymer being soluble, dispersible or disintegrable in a patient's gastrointestinal environment for release of the drug substance contained in the solid matrix, in which the plurality of sub-units are disposed in end-to-end relationship along a line that defines an axial direction, each of the plurality of sub-units including an outer wall surrounding said line, and a plurality of joints, in which each of said plurality of sub-units is joined to at least one other sub-unit by one of the plurality of joints, each joint comprising a plug formed as a unitary part of one respectively joined sub-unit and a socket formed as a unitary part of the other respectively joined sub-unit, wherein the plurality of sub-units includes at least two drug substance containing sub-units each respectively including a socket and at least one linker sub-unit including a pair of plugs on opposed axial ends thereof, each of said pair of plugs being engaged with a respective one of said two drug substance-containing sub-units, and wherein the plurality of joints includes at least two first joints respectively formed between the two drug substance-containing sub-units and the one linker such that the relative axial position between each of the respective two drug substance-containing sub-units and the one linker sub-unit is solely delimited by engaging outer wall axial end parts of the respective two drug substance-containing sub-units and engaging outer wall axial end parts of the one linker sub-unit.