Modified release ibuprofen dosage form

1. A modified release formulation of ibuprofen providing immediate and sustained drug release, comprising:

a hydrophilic polymer;

300 to 800 mg of ibuprofen in solid dosage form uniformly dispersed in said polymer; a dissolution additive dispersed in said hydrophilic polymer in an amount in the range of 10% to 35% by weight of the ibuprofen, said dissolution additive comprising an alkali metal salt, an amino acid having a neutral to alkaline side chain, croscarmellose sodium, or a combination thereof;

and an inert formulation additive dispersed in said hydrophilic polymer in an amount in the range of 15% to 75% by weight of the ibuprofen,

wherein said hydrophilic polymer comprises a first hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) having a viscosity of about 100 cps and a second HPMC having a viscosity between about 200 cps to about 50,000 cps,

wherein said formulation is in a solid dosage form comprising a monolithic tablet and releases at least 20% of the ibuprofen within 2 hours following oral administration or exposure to an agitated aqueous medium of a single dosage unit, then thereafter releases ibuprofen at a relatively constant rate in a substantially linear relationship between percentage of ibuprofen released and elapsed time over a period of at least 8 hours, and wherein at least 70% of the ibuprofen is released over a period of not more than 14 hours following such administration or exposure.

2. The formulation of claim 1 , wherein ibuprofen is present in each tablet in an amount of about 300 mg, 400 mg, or 600 mg.

3. The formulation of claim 1 , wherein ibuprofen is present in each tablet in an amount of about 600 mg.

4. The formulation of claim 1 , wherein each hydroxypropyl methylcellulose is present at a concentration of 17% to 42% by weight of the ibuprofen.

5. The formulation of claim 1 , wherein the viscosity of the second HPMC is about 4,000 cps.

6. The formulation of claim 1 , wherein the first HPMC is present at a concentration in the range of 5% to 20% by weight of the ibuprofen and the second HPMC has a viscosity of about/1000 cps and is present at a concentration in the range of about 10% to about 30% by weight of the ibuprofen.

7. The formulation of claim 1 , wherein said second HPMC has a viscosity selected from the group consisting of 200 cps, 1,000 cps, 2,000 cps, 4,000 cps, 10,000cps, 15,000 cps, and 50,000 cps.

8. The formulation of claim 1 , wherein the inert formulation additive comprises a first inert formulation additive having a first average particle size and a second inert formulation additive having a second average particle size, wherein the first and second inert formulation additives are each present in an amount in the range of 15% to 35% by weight of the ibuprofen.

9. The formulation of claim 8 , wherein said first inert formulation additive comprises a first microcrystalline cellulose having the first average particle size and said second inert formulation additive comprises a second microcrystalline cellulose having the second average particle size, wherein each such microcrystalline cellulose is present at a concentration in the range of about 15% to about 35% by weight of the ibuprofen, the combination of which comprises from about 40% to about 60% by weight of the ibuprofen.

10. The formulation of claim 9 , wherein the first average particle size is about 60 icrons and the second average particle size is about 110 microns.

11. The formulation of claim 1 , wherein the inert formulation additive comprises microcrystalline cellulose.

12. The formulation of claim 11 , wherein the inert formulation additive further comprises silica, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, lactose, pre-gelatinized starch, dicalcium phosphate, or a combination of any of them.

13. The formulation of claim 1 , wherein: the inert formulation additive comprises a first microcrystalline cellulose having a first average particle size and a second microcrystalline cellulose having a second average particle size; and the dissolution additive comprises glycine as the amino acid having a neutral to alkaline side chain, and croscarmellose sodium.

14. The formulation of claim 13 , wherein the first and second microcrystalline cellulose comprise silicified microcrystalline cellulose.

15. A modified release formulation of ibuprofen providing immediate and sustained drug release, comprising:

a hydrophilic polymer;

300 to 800mg of ibuprofen in solid dosage form uniformly dispersed in said polymer; dissolution additives dispersed in said hydrophilic polymer in an amount in the range of 10% to 35% by weight of the ibuprofen, said dissolution additives comprising glycine and croscarmellose sodium;

and inert formulation additives dispersed in said hydrophilic polymer in an amount in the range of 15% to 75% by weight of the ibuprofen, wherein said inert formulation additives comprise silica, stearic acid, a first silicified microcrystalline cellulose having an average particle size of about 60 microns, and a second silicified microcrystalline cellulose having an average particle size of about 110 microns, and wherein said first and second silicified microcrystalline celluloses are each present in an amount in the range of 15% to 35% by weight of the ibuprofen;

wherein said hydrophilic polymer comprises a first hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) having a viscosity of about 100 cps and a second HPMC having a viscosity of about 4,000 cps, and

wherein said formulation is in a solid dosage form comprising a monolithic tablet and releases at least 20% of the ibuprofen within 2 hours following oral administration or exposure to an agitated aqueous medium of a single dosage unit, then thereafter releases ibuprofen at a relatively constant rate in a substantially linear relationship between percentage of ibuprofen released and elapsed time over a period of at least 8 hours, and wherein at least 70% of the ibuprofen is released over a period of not more than 14 hours following such administration or exposure.