Treprostinil administration by inhalation
Treprostinil can be administered using a metered dose inhaler. Such administration provides a greater degree of autonomy to patients. Also disclosed are kits that include a metered dose inhaler containing a pharmaceutical formulation containing treprostinil.
1. A method of treating pulmonary hypertension comprising: administering by inhalation to a human suffering from pulmonary hypertension a therapeutically effective single event dose of a formulation comprising from 200 to 1000 μg/ml of treprostinil or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof with a pulsed ultrasonic nebulizer that aerosolizes a fixed amount of treprostinil or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof per pulse, said pulsed ultrasonic nebulizer comprising an opto-acoustical trigger that allows said human to synchronize each breath to each pulse, said therapeutically effective single event dose comprising from 15 μg to 90 μg of treprostinil or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof delivered in 3 to 18 breaths, wherein the fixed amount of treprostinil or its pharmaceutically acceptable salt for each breath inhaled by the human comprises at least 5 μg of treprostinil or its pharmaceutically acceptable salt.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the single event dose produces a peak plasma concentration of treprostinil below 1.74 ng/ml about 10-15 minutes after the single event dose.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the formulation comprises 600 μg/ml of the treprostinil or its pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the single event dose is not repeated for a period of at least 3 hours.