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(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT) (19) World Intellectual Property Organization International Bureau (10) International Publication Number (43) International Publication Date Χ 15 December 2011 (15.12.2011) WO 2U11/154U12 A l (51) International Patent Classification: (81) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every A61K 31/415 (2006.01) A61K 9/20 (2006.01) kind of national protection available): AE, AG, AL, AM, AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BR, BW, BY, BZ, (21) International Application Number: CA, CH, CL, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, DO, PCT/DK201 1/050207 DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, (22) International Filing Date: HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KM, KN, KP, 10 June 201 1 (10.06.201 1) KR, KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY, MA, MD, ME, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, (25) Filing Language: English NO, NZ, OM, PE, PG, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, RU, SC, SD, (26) Publication Language: English SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TH, TJ, TM, TN, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VC, VN, ZA, ZM, ZW. (30) Priority Data: PA 2010 00506 10 June 2010 (10.06.2010) DK Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every kind of regional protection available): ARIPO (BW, GH, (71) Applicant (for all designated States except US): LIFE- GM, KE, LR, LS, MW, MZ, NA, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, CYCLE PHARMA A S [DK/DK]; Kogle Alle 4, ZM, ZW), Eurasian (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, DK-2970 H0rsholm (DK). TM), European (AL, AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, (72) Inventors; and LV, MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, (75) Inventors/ Applicants (for US only): SKAK, Nikolaj SM, TR), OAPI (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, [DK/DK]; Guldregnvaenget 11, DK-2830 Virum (DK). GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG). KRISTENSEN, Jakob [DK/DK]; Fyrrevaenget 21, DK-3520 Farum (DK). Published: (74) Common Representative: LIFECYCLE PHARMA A/ with international search report (Art. 21(3)) S ; Kogle Alle 4, DK-2970 Heirsholm (DK). o o (54) Title: MINI-TABLETS COMPRISING POROUS ADSORBENT MATERIAL (57) Abstract: A loadable tablet comprising a porous adsorbent material and having a volume of from to 50 mm 3 may be loaded with an ingredient, such as oils, excipients, pharmaceutically active ingredients; the mini-tablet is useful e.g. for administering low doses of a pharmaceutically active ingredient to research or pre-clinical animals or to humans in phase I clinical trials or for pedi atric use. MINI-TABLETS COMPRISING POROUS ADSORBENT MATERIAL The present invention relates to a loadable mini-tablet (or small-volume tablet) comprising a porous adsorbent material as well as such a mini-tablet loaded with an ingredient, such as oils, excipients, pharmaceutically active ingredients etc. The invention also provides a method for the preparation of such loadable mini-tablets, methods of loading with an ingredient and uses of the mini-tablet. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many known and future drug substances may exhibit undesirable properties especially with respect to e.g. water solubility and oral bioavailability. Therefore, novel technologies, which enable especially therapeutically and/or prophylactically active substances to be delivered in vivo in a relatively easy manner and at the same time enables the desired therapeutic and/or prophylactic response, is highly needed. Drugs or pharmaceutical compositions usually comprise one or more active substances and various excipients. One reason for preparing such pharmaceutical compositions is to manipulate the availability of the active compound in the body of the patient after ingestion of the pharmaceutical composition. Pharmaceutical compositions for oral administration are conventionally provided as granules incorporating the active pharmaceutical ingredient or substance. Such granulate or granules may be compressed into tablets or filled into capsules. One commonly used technique for granulation is a wet granulation, where a mixture of powders including the active compound is mixed with a liquid, usually an aqueous liquid, under mechanical influence for the preparation of granules. Usually the granules prepared by wet granulation are dried before use. Other known techniques for the preparation of granules are melt agglomeration and controlled agglomeration. WO2006/000229A2 discloses the preparation of a tablet solely containing inert pharmaceutically acceptable excipients (although in some cases it may be suitable also to incorporate an active substance therein). When this tablet is immersed in or contacted with a pharmaceutically acceptable liquid formulation e.g. containing the active pharmaceutically ingredient (substance), the tablet will due to its porosity - absorb the liquid formulation (adsorbed to the walls of the inert tablet pores). This loading of an inert tablet takes place within a relatively short period of time and is reproducible, i.e. the same amount of liquid formulation is sorbed when the same type and size of tablet and liquid formulation is used. Typically, the pharmaceutically acceptable liquid formulation containing the active substance is described as an oil or an oily-like material, and it is intended that the oil or oily-like material containing the active substance remains in the tablet until administration to a mammal or human subject, and hereafter release occurs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The inventors of the present invention have found that small tablets (mini- tablets hereinafter also denoted LLMT) having a volume of 1-50 mm3, such as a volume of 4-20 mm3, and comprising a porous adsorbent material (carrier material) as described herein are very advantageous for specialty uses. The small mini-tablets of the present invention are loadable with different ingredients depending on the application and thus have a variety of uses once the mini tablets have been produced. Some of the porous adsorbent materials used herein, e.g. Zeofree, does not require magnesium stearate as lubricant for production of mini tablets, which is unusual. Magnesium stearate is incompatible with a number of substances, both ingredients having no pharmaceutical use as well as pharmaceutically active ingredients. No other excipients are necessarily required, and thereby the influence from these can be avoided in, e.g., tox studies. Very scarce amount of pharmaceutically active ingredient often limits formulation development activities in the preclinical phase. The LLMT can administer low doses of pharmaceutically active ingredients to animals in research or in pre-clinical, e.g. rodents, very precise and accurate. This is possible by either varying the loading ratios relative to the LLMT loading capacity or the concentration of dissolved pharmaceutically active ingredient in the loading solvent or by changing the number of LLMT dispensed. It is therefore possible to provide the exact amount of pharmaceutically active ingredient to each individual animal using the LLMT technology (as illustrated in example 1). The LLMT is easy to handle and administer to for instance animals during research compared to generally used alternatives (suspension, liquids, powder in a bottle or hand-filled capsules). The LLMT technology also provides a possibility to coat/sugar coat the mini- tablets for stability improvement or to facilitate use in animal feeds in pre-clinical testing. Several alternative applications with these new mini tablets exists, in particular the LLMT can be used to easy adjustment of doses to both animals and humans by weighing the required amounts of LLMT for dosing relative to body mass and the LLMT can therefore also be used for the first human dose clinical trials. The LLMT are very easy to dispense at the Phase I clinical trial site compared to for example powder or hand-filled capsules. Furthermore the LLMT can be coated to mask taste, color etc, or enteric coated for targeted drug delivery if needed. No formulation change is required from pre-formulation to marketed product. This is possible because the preclinical LLMT formulation can be up-scaled to a marketed product, such as the porous composition described in WO2006/000229A2, without changing the composition and only changing the volume of the tablet (including the size). Another particular advantageous use of the mini-tablet of the present invention is pediatric use, since children should typically receive less pharmaceutical active ingredient than adults, and such mini tablets will increase compliance, when dealing with pediatric patients (children, infants, toddlers). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to very small tablets having a volume of from about 1 to about 50 mm3, and typically is a cylindrical tablet with a diametrical size of 3 mm or less (as used herein, "size" measured in mm denotes the diameter of a tablet), which tablet can be loaded with ingredients, such as inert or inactive ingredients, or oils, or pharmaceutically active ingredients. As used herein the term "tablet" is intended to include solid dosage forms that have a predefined shape, and can be produced by various technologies known to the skilled person, such as tabletting, compacting, molding. The tablet as used herein may have different shapes, such as cylindrical, spherical, oval, triangular, square, etc. When for instance a cylindrical shape is used it should not be interpreted limiting, and may comprise such cylindrical tablets where at least a part of the tablet is cylindrical, e.g. the mid-section is cylindrical whereas the top and bottom parts are curved. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a loadable tablet comprising a porous adsorbent material, wherein said tablet has a volume of from about 1 to about 50 mm3. In a further embodiment the tablet has a volume of from about 4 to about 20 mm3.