Capsules containing high doses of levodopa for pulmonary use
View Patent ↗The present invention provides a capsule containing an inhalable powder composition wherein the composition comprises about 75% by weight or more levodopa, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and a salt characterized by a working density of less than about 100 g/L. The invention further provides a capsule containing an inhalable powder composition wherein the composition comprises about 75% by weight or more levodopa, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and a salt characterized by a working density of less than about 100 g/L wherein the capsule material comprises hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and titanium dioxide.
1. A capsule for use in an inhalation device, wherein the capsule is filled with a dry powder comprising levodopa; wherein the capsule's shell comprises hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and titanium dioxide, and wherein the dry powder comprises a fine particle fraction of at least 50% of the nominal powder dose.
2. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the dry powder comprises from about 2% to about 8% of water by weight.
3. The capsule of claim 2 , wherein the dry powder comprises from about 5% to about 6% of water by weight.
4. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the capsule is a 00 size capsule.
5. The capsule of claim 4 , wherein the dry powder comprises between about 15 milligrams and 50 milligrams of levodopa.
6. The capsule of claim 5 , wherein the dry powder comprises between about 25 milligrams and 35 milligrams of levodopa.
7. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the dry powder further comprises a salt.
8. The capsule of claim 7 , wherein said salt is sodium chloride.
9. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the dry powder further comprises a phospholipid.
10. The capsule of claim 9 , wherein said phospholipid is dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC).
11. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the dry powder further comprises DPPC and sodium chloride.
12. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the dry powder comprises a fine particle fraction between about 50% to about 70% of the total amount of powder in the capsule.
13. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the capsule is filled with about 30 milligrams to about 50 milligrams of dry powder.
14. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the dry powder has a working density between about 0.02 g/cm 3 to about 0.1 g/cm 3 .
15. The capsule of claim of claim 1 , wherein the dry powder has a working density between about 0.02 g/cm 3 to about 0.05 g/cm 3 .