Polymer based compositions and conjugates of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

1. A water-soluble polymer ketorolac conjugate having the structure:

where:

R is an aliphatic polyol core molecule,

POLY is a water-soluble polymer,

L is an optional linker interposed between POLY and the carboxyl oxygen,

where L 0 indicates the absence of a linker and L 1 indicates the presence of a linker, and

y is an integer ranging from 3 to 8.

2. The conjugate of claim 1 , where POLY is a homo-polymer or a co-polymer.

3. The conjugate of claim 2 , wherein POLY is selected from the group consisting of a poly(alkylene oxide), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), poly(vinyl alcohol), polyoxazoline, and poly(acryloylmorpholine).

4. The conjugate of claim 3 , wherein POLY is a poly(alkylene oxide).

5. The conjugate of claim 4 , wherein the poly(alkylene oxide) is a poly(ethylene glycol).

6. The conjugate of claim 5 , wherein the polyethylene glycol) has a molecular weight in a range selected from the group consisting of: from about 200 daltons to about 100,000 daltons, from about 500 daltons to about 75,000 daltons, from about 1,000 daltons to about 60,000 daltons, from about 2,000 daltons to about 50,000 daltons, and from about 5,000 daltons to about 45,000 daltons.

7. The conjugate of claim 6 , wherein the polyethylene glycol) has a molecular weight selected from the group consisting of about: 100 daltons, 200 daltons, 300 daltons, 400 daltons, 500 daltons, 600 daltons, 700 daltons, 750 daltons, 800 daltons, 900 daltons, 1000 daltons, 1500 daltons, 2000 daltons, 2200 daltons, 2500 daltons, 3000 daltons, 4,000 daltons, 4,400 daltons, 5000 daltons, 6,000 daltons, 7,000 daltons, 7,500 daltons, 8,000 daltons, 9,000 daltons, 10,000 daltons, 11,000 daltons, 12,000 daltons, 13,000 daltons, 14,000 daltons, 15,000 daltons, and 20,000 daltons.

8. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the linker is present and L 1 possesses a length selected from the group consisting of from about 1 to about 30 atoms, from about 2 to about 20 atoms, and from about 3 to about 15 atoms.

9. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the linker is absent.

10. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein each POLY comprises a copolymer comprising an inner polypeptide segment covalently attached to the aliphatic polyol core molecule and an outer hydrophilic polymer segment covalently attached to said inner polypeptide segment.

11. The conjugate of claim 1 , having a structure selected from the group consisting of:

wherein:

m is an integer selected from 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8,

PEG is poly(ethylene glycol), and

D has the structure:

12. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a conjugate of claim 1 .

13. A pharmaceutical composition of claim 12 , further comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

14. The conjugate of claim 8 , wherein the linker is selected from an amino acid, an amino alcohol, and a bifunctional PEG oligomer.

15. The conjugate of claim 1 , wherein the aliphatic polyol core molecule is selected from the group consisting of glycerol, pentaerythritol, sorbitol, and trimethylolpropane.

16. The conjugate of claim 1 , corresponding to the structure:

wherein the weight average molecular weight of the polymer in the conjugate is from 500 daltons to 100,000 daltons.