Sustained release compositions of 4-aminopyridine

1. A sustained release tablet comprising:

(a) a compressed core, said compressed core comprising (i) 4-aminopyridine, wherein the amount of 4-aminopyridine in the compressed core is in the range of about 1% w/w to about 10% w/w of the compressed core, (ii) a polyethylene oxide with a molecular weight between 4,000,000 and 8,000,000, wherein the amount of the polyethylene oxide in the compressed core is in the range of about 10% w/w to about 20% w/w of the compressed core, and (iii) a mixture comprising polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl pyrrolidone, wherein the amount of the mixture comprising polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the compressed core is in the range of about 20% w/w to about 30% w/w of the compressed core; and

(b) an amount of an ethylcellulose coat surrounding said compressed core, said amount of the ethylcellulose coat being in the range of about 5% w/w to about 10% w/w of the compressed core.

2. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein said mixture further comprises one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients.

3. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein said mixture consists of about 80% polyvinyl acetate, about 19% polyvinyl pyrrolidone, about 0.8% sodium lauryl sulfate, and about 0.2% silica.

4. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the compressed core further comprises a filler and a lubricant.

5. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the polyethylene oxide has a molecular weight of 7,000,000.

6. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein said mixture consists of about 80% polyvinyl acetate, about 19% polyvinyl pyrrolidone, about 0.8% sodium lauryl sulfate, and about 0.2% of silica; wherein the compressed core further comprises dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate and magnesium stearate; and

wherein the amount of 4-aminopyridine is in the range of about 4% w/w to about 6% w/w of the compressed core.

7. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the amount of the ethylcellulose coat surrounding the compressed core is about 9% w/w of the compressed core.

8. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the amount of the ethylcellulose coat is in the range of about 5% w/w to about 7% w/w of the compressed core.

9. The sustained release tablet of claim 8 , wherein the amount of 4-aminopyridine is in the range of about 3% w/w to about 5% w/w of the compressed core and the amount of the ethylcellulose coat surrounding the compressed core is about 6% w/w of the compressed core.

10. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the amount of 4-aminopyridine in the compressed core is in the range of about 12 mg to about 25 mg.

11. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the amount of 4-aminopyridine in the compressed core is in the range of about 5 mg to about 12 mg.

12. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein (i) the amount of 4-aminopyridine is in the range of about 4% w/w to about 6% w/w of the compressed core; (ii) the mixture consists of about 80% polyvinyl acetate, about 19% polyvinyl pyrrolidone, about 0.8% sodium lauryl sulfate, and about 0.2% of silica; (iii) the amount of the mixture is in the range of about 20% w/w to about 30% w/w of the compressed core; and (iv) the compressed core further comprises (A) dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate, wherein the amount of dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate is in the range of about 50% w/w to about 60% w/w of the compressed core; and (B) magnesium stearate, wherein the amount of magnesium stearate is in the range of about 0.7% w/w to about 1.3% w/w of the compressed core.

13. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein (i) the amount of 4-aminopyridine is in the range of about 4% w/w to about 6% w/w of the compressed core; (ii) the polyethylene oxide has a molecular weight of 7,000,000, wherein the amount of the polyethylene oxide is about 15% w/w of the compressed core; (iii) the mixture consists of about 80% polyvinyl acetate, about 19% polyvinyl pyrrolidone, about 0.8% sodium lauryl sulfate, and about 0.2% of silica, wherein the amount of the mixture is about 25% w/w of the compressed core; (iv) the compressed core further comprises (A) dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate, wherein the amount of dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate is about 54% w/w of the compressed core; and (B) magnesium stearate, wherein the amount of magnesium stearate is about 1% w/w of the compressed core; and

wherein the amount of the ethylcellulose coat is about 9% w/w of the compressed core.

14. The sustained release tablet of claim 13 , wherein the amount of 4-aminopyridine is about 22 mg.

15. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein (i) the amount of 4-aminopyridine is in the range of about 3% w/w to about 5% w/w of the compressed core; (ii) the mixture consists of about 80% polyvinyl acetate, about 19% polyvinyl pyrrolidone, about 0.8% sodium lauryl sulfate, and about 0.2% of silica; (iii) the amount of the mixture is in the range of about 20% w/w to about 30% w/w of the compressed core; (iv) the compressed core further comprises (A) dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate, wherein the amount of dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate is in the range of about 50% w/w to about 60% w/w of the compressed core; and (B) magnesium stearate, wherein the amount of magnesium stearate is in the range of about 0.7% w/w to about 1.3% w/w of the compressed core; and wherein the amount of the ethylcellulose coat is in the range of about 5% w/w to about 7% w/w of the compressed core.

16. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein (i) the amount of 4-aminopyridine is in the range of about 3% w/w to about 5% w/w of the compressed core; (ii) the polyethylene oxide has a molecular weight of 7,000,000, wherein the amount of the polyethylene oxide is about 15% w/w of the compressed core; (iii) the mixture consists of about 80% polyvinyl acetate, about 19% polyvinyl pyrrolidone, about 0.8% sodium lauryl sulfate, and about 0.2% of silica, wherein the amount of the mixture is about 25% w/w of the compressed core; (iv) the compressed core further comprises (A) dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate, wherein the amount of dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate is about 55% w/w of the compressed core; and (B) magnesium stearate, wherein the amount of magnesium stearate is about 1% w/w of the compressed core; and

wherein the amount of the ethylcellulose coat is about 6% w/w of the compressed core.

17. The sustained release tablet of claim 16 , wherein the amount of 4-aminopyridine is about 16.5 mg.

18. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the sustained release tablet is the product of a process comprising a curing step after coating the compressed core with ethylcellulose, and wherein said curing step comprises heating the coated compressed core to a temperature above 23° C. for a period of time of at least 15 minutes.

19. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the sustained release tablet does not further comprise an immediate release drug overcoat containing 4-aminopyridine.

20. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the sustained release tablet provides a zero-order or near-zero-order release of the 4-aminopyridine.

21. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the sustained release tablet is suitable for once daily oral administration.

22. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the sustained release tablet comprises an amount of 4-aminopyridine that is therapeutically effective over a period of 24 hours upon oral administration to a human patient.

23. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the release of the 4-aminopyridine, upon subjecting the tablet to an in vitro dissolution test employing 50 mM Phosphate Buffer, pH 6.8 as dissolution medium, is as follows:

within the first 2 hours after the start of the test at most 30% w/w of the total amount of the 4-aminopyridine contained in the sustained release tablet is released.

24. The sustained release tablet of claim 23 , wherein the release of the 4-aminopyridine is as follows:

within the first 24 hours after the start of the test at least 80% w/w of the total amount of the 4-aminopyridine contained in the sustained release tablet is released.

25. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the sustained release tablet further comprises an immediate release drug overcoat containing 4-aminopyridine.

26. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the amount of the ethylcellulose coat is in the range of about 8% w/w to about 10% w/w of the tablet, wherein said tablet is the product of a process comprising a curing step after coating the compressed core with ethylcellulose, and wherein said curing step comprises heating the coated compressed core to a temperature above 23° C. for a period of time of at least 15 minutes.

27. The sustained release tablet of claim 18 , wherein said curing step comprises exposing the coated compressed core to a temperature in the range of 40-70° C. for a period of time of at least 1 hour.

28. The sustained release tablet of claim 1 , wherein the release of the 4-aminopyridine, upon subjecting the tablet to an in vitro dissolution test employing 50 mM Phosphate Buffer, pH 6.8 as dissolution medium, is as follows:

within the first 2 hours after the start of the test at most 20% w/w of the total amount of the 4-aminopyridine contained in the sustained release tablet is released.

29. The sustained release tablet of claim 28 , wherein the release of the 4-aminopyridine is as follows:

within the first 24 hours after the start of the test at least 80% w/w of the total amount of the 4-aminopyridine contained in the sustained release tablet is released.

30. A sustained release tablet comprising:

(a) a compressed core, said compressed core comprising (i) 4-aminopyridine, wherein the amount of 4-aminopyridine in the compressed core is in the range of about 1% w/w to about 10% w/w of the compressed core, (ii) a polyethylene oxide with a molecular weight between 4,000,000 and 8,000,000, wherein the amount of the polyethylene oxide in the compressed core is in the range of about 10% w/w to about 20% w/w of the compressed core, and (iii) a mixture comprising polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl pyrrolidone, wherein the amount of the mixture comprising polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the compressed core is in the range of about 20% w/w to about 30% w/w of the compressed core; and

(b) an amount of an ethylcellulose coat surrounding said compressed core, wherein the ratio of the amount of the ethylcellulose coat to the amount of 4-aminopyridine in the compressed core is in the range of about 0.5:1 to about 3:1; wherein for calculating said ratio, the amount of the ethylcellulose coat is the weight percentage of the ethylcellulose coat by weight of the compressed core, and the amount of 4-aminopyridine is the weight percentage of 4-aminopyridine by weight of the compressed core.

31. A sustained release tablet comprising:

(a) a compressed core, said compressed core comprising (i) 4-aminopyridine, wherein the amount of 4-aminopyridine in the compressed core is in the range of about 1% w/w to about 10% w/w of the compressed core, (ii) a polyethylene oxide with a molecular weight between 4,000,000 and 8,000,000, wherein the amount of the polyethylene oxide in the compressed core is in the range of about 10% w/w to about 20% w/w of the compressed core, and (iii) a mixture comprising polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl pyrrolidone, wherein the amount of the mixture comprising polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the compressed core is in the range of about 20% w/w to about 30% w/w of the compressed core; and

(b) an amount of an ethylcellulose coat surrounding said compressed core, wherein the ratio of the amount of the ethylcellulose coat to the amount of 4-aminopyridine in the compressed core is in the range of about 0.1:1 to about 0.7:1;

wherein for calculating said ratio, the amount of the ethylcellulose coat is the weight percentage of the ethylcellulose coat by weight of the compressed core, and the amount of 4-aminopyridine is the weight in milligrams of 4-aminopyridine.

32. A method of making a sustained release tablet comprising 4-aminopyridine, which method comprises:

(a) forming a compressed core comprising (i) 4-aminopyridine, (ii) a polyethylene oxide with a molecular weight between about 1,000,000 and 10,000,000, (iii) a mixture comprising polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl pyrrolidone; (iv) dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate, and (v) magnesium stearate;

(b) coating the compressed core with an amount of ethylcellulose to form a coated compressed core, said amount of the ethylcellulose coat being in the range of about 5% w/w to about 10% w/w of the compressed core; and

(c) curing the coated compressed core by exposing it to a temperature in the range of 40-70° C. for a period of time of at least 1 hour.