Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Publication
    Coated minispheres of salmon calcitonin target rat intestinal regions to achieve systemic bioavailability: Comparison between intestinal instillation and oral gavage
    Achieving oral peptide delivery is an elusive challenge. Emulsion-based minispheres of salmon calcitonin (sCT) were synthesized using single multiple pill (SmPill®) technology incorporating the permeation enhancers (PEs): sodium taurodeoxycholate (NaTDC), sodium caprate (C10), or coco-glucoside (CG), or the pH acidifier, citric acid (CA). Minispheres were coated with an outer layer of Eudragit® L30 D-55 (designed for jejunal release) or Surelease®/Pectin (designed for colonic release). The process was mild and in vitro biological activity of sCT was retained upon release from minispheres stored up to 4 months. In vitro release profiles suggested that sCT was released from minispheres by diffusion through coatings due to swelling of gelatin and the polymeric matrix upon contact with PBS at pH 6.8. X-ray analysis confirmed that coated minispheres dissolved at the intended intestinal region of rats following oral gavage. Uncoated minispheres at a dose of ~ 2000 I.U. sCT/kg were administered to rats by intra-jejunal (i.j.) or intra-colonic (i.c.) instillation and caused hypocalcaemia. Notable sCT absolute bioavailability (F) values were: 5.5% from minispheres containing NaTDC (i.j), 17.3% with CG (i.c.) and 18.2% with C10 (i.c.). Coated minispheres administered by oral gavage at threefold higher doses also induced hypocalcaemia. A highly competitive F value of 2.7% was obtained for orally-administered sCT-minispheres containing CG (45 μmol/kg) and coated with Eudragit®. In conclusion, the SmPill® technology is a potential dosage form for several peptides when formulated with PEs and coated for regional delivery. PK data from instillations over-estimates oral bioavailability and poorly predicts rank ordering of formulations.
    Scopus© Citations 16  721
  • Publication
    Current status of selected oral peptide technologies in advanced preclinical development and in clinical trials
    The development of oral dosage forms that allows absorption of therapeutic peptides to the systemic circulation is one of the greatest challenges for the pharmaceutical industry. Currently, a number of technologies including either mixtures of penetration enhancers or protease inhibitors and/or nanotechnology-based products are under clinical development. Typically, these formulations are presented in the form of enteric-coated tablets or capsules. Systems undergoing preclinical investigation include further advances in nanotechnology, including intestinal microneedle patches, as well as their combination with regional delivery to the colon. This review critically examines four selected promising oral peptide technologies at preclinical stage and the twelve that have progressed to clinical trials, as indicated in www.clinicaltrials.gov. We examined these technologies under the criteria of peptide selection, formulation design, system components and excipients, intestinal mechanism of action, efficacy in man, and safety issues. The conclusion is that most of the technologies in clinical trials are incremental rather than paradigm-shifting and that even the more clinically-advanced oral peptide drugs examples of oral bioavailability appear to yield oral bioavailability values of only 1-2% and are, therefore, only currently suitable for a limited range of peptides.
      3889Scopus© Citations 240