United States Patent 19 11) Patent Number: 4,639,366 Heller (45) Date of Patent: Jan. 27, 1987 54 POLYMERS CONTAINING PENDANT ACD Primary Examiner-John Kight FUNCTIONALTES AND LABLE Assistant Examiner-M. L. Moore BACKBONE BONDS Attorney, Agent, or Firm-R. Brent Olson; Manfred (75) Inventor: Jorge Heller, Woodside, Calif. Polk; Michael C. Sudol, Jr. (73) Assignee: Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J. 57 ABSTRACT 21) Appl. No.: 618,002 The instant invention is directed to a polymer with at least one labile backbone bond per repeat unit and at 22 Filed: Jun. 6, 1984 least one pendant acid functionality per thousand repeat 51 Int. Cl." .................... A61K 31/74; A61K 31/765 units. (52) U.S. C. ........................................ 424/19; 424/20; The instant invention is also directed to a controlled 424/22; 424/78 release device which comprises: 58 Field of Search ........................ 424/22, 78, 19, 20 (A) a polymer with at least one labile backbone bond 56) References Cited per repeat unit and at least one pendant acid function U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS ality per thousand repeat units; and 4,093,709 6/1978 Choi et al. ............................ 424/19 (B) a beneficial substance incorporated within or sur 4,150,108 4/1979 Graham ....... ... 424/22 rounded by the matrix of said polymer. 4,221,779 9/1980 Graham ....... ... 424/78 4,304,767 12/1981 Heller et al. .......................... 424/78 4 Claims, No Drawings 4,639,366 1. 2 acid unit) may be used to react with the polyol contain POLYMERS CONTAINING PENDANT ACID ing a pendant acid group. Examples include polyortho FUNCTIONALTES AND LABLE BACKBONE esters (including polyorthocarbonates), polyacetals, BONDS polyketals, polyesters and polyphosphazenes. The pre ferred polymers are poly(orthoesters) and polyacetals. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Examples of polyorthoesters, polyorthocarbonates and There has long been a need in the field of drug deliv polyacetals are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,709, and ery devices to have a drug released in the human or U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,304,767, 4,221,779 and 4,150,108 which animal tissue at the place where it is most therapeuti are hereby incorporated by reference. cally effective and to have said drug released in the 10 The preparation of the polymers may be by a variety tissue in a controlled manner over along period of time. of methods. U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,709, column 8, line 11 U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,093,709 and 4,304,767 disclose poly through column 9, line 47, outlines several methods of mers which can be used as a matrix to contain a drug. preparation. The polymers contain labile backbone bonds which Any beneficial substance (e.g. therapeutics or biologi hydrolyze in the presence of water causing a controlled 15 cally active agents) may be used in the controlled re erosion of the matrix and resultant release of the drug. lease device. The substance should not significantly These polymers have the disadvantage, however, that interfere with the acid catalyzed hydrolysis of the labile they hydrolyze extremely slowly. polymer backbone bond. Basic substances may cause The polymers of the instant invention have the ad some interference. It is preferred that any acid sub vantage that the pendant acid functionalities catalyze 20 stances be in the salt form. the hydrolysis of the labile polymer backbone bonds. Representative examples of the polyols are as fol DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION lows: 9,10-dihydroxystearic acid; 3,6-dihydroxynaph The instant invention is directed to a polymer with at thalene-2,7-disulfonic acid; 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid; least one labile backbone bond per repeat unit and at 25 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid; 6,7-dihydroxy-2-naphtha least one pendant acid functionality per thousand repeat lene sulfonic acid; 6,7-dihydroxy-2-naphtalene sulfenic units. acid; 2,5-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid; 2,4-dihydrox The instant invention is also directed to a controlled ypyrimidine-5-carboxylic acid; 4,8-dihydroxyquinoline release device which comprises: 2-carboxylic acid; and mixtures thereof. (A) a polymer with at least one labile backbone bond 30 It will be realized that these are merely representative per repeat unit and at least one pendant acid function examples and that any polyol containing an acidic ality per thousand repeat units; and group can be used provided it does not adversely affect (B) a beneficial substance incorporated within or sur the polymerization reaction or leads to toxicologically rounded by the matrix of said polymer. undesirable degradation products. Thus, any group that The polymers of the instant invention may be pre 35 can be incorporated into the polymer and which when pared by reacting a polyol, preferably a diol, having a placed in water ionizes to produce a pH lower than pendant acidic group with a polymer containing a labile about 7.0 is a useful group provided the above limita backbone bond. Excess amounts of either component tions are met. may be used in preparing the final polymer, although The molecular weight of the polymer is not critical. stoichiometric amounts are preferred. The molecular weight is preferably at least 1,000 as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,093,709 and 4,304,767, which are determined by low angle light scattering. hereby incorporated by reference, disclose numerous Representative beneficial substances (therapeutics polyols. Any of these polyols may be modified to con and biologically active agents) for incorporation into or tain one or more pendant acidic groups per thousand to be surrounded by the polymer matrix to be used with repeat units, up to a maximum of one per repeat unit. this invention and to be released to an aqueous environ The number of acid groups incorporated depends on ment include without limitation, the following: the desired rate of erosion. For increased erosion, rela 1. Protein drugs such as insulin; tively more acid groups would be incorporated. A pre 2. Desensitizing agents such as ragweed pollen anti ferred group of polyols may be represented as follows: gens, hay fever pollen antigens, dust antigen and milk 50 antigen; 3. Vaccines such as smallpox, yellow fever, distem per, hog cholera, fowl pox, antivenom, scarlet fever, Ho--OH dyptheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, pigeon pox, whooping Y cough, influenzae, rabies, mumps, measles, poliomyeli X 55 tis, Newcastle disease, etc.; 4. Anti-infectives, such as antibiotics, including peni where X is the acidic group and Y is a spacer group. R cillin, tetracycline, chlortetracycline bacitracin, nysta and Y may be an alkyl, aryl or substiuted alkyl or aryl, tin, streptomycin, neomycin, polymyxin, gramicidin, preferably containing 1 to 18 carbonatoms, most prefer oxytetracycline, chloramphenicol, and erythromycin; ably 2 to 10 carbon atoms. The Y group may optionally sulfonamides, including sulfacetamide, sulfamethizole, be eliminated. sulfamethazine, sulfadiazine, sulfamerazine, and sulfi Any acidic group may be used in the polyol. Exam soxazole, cefoxitin; anti-virals including idoxuridine; ples include carboxylic, carbon acid, phosphoric, sul and other anti-infectives including nitrofurazone and fonic and sulfenic acid groups. - sodium propionate; Tri- and higher hydroxyl functional polyols may be 65 5. Antiallergenics such as antazoline, methapyrilene, used, which will result in crosslinked polymers. chlorpheniramine, pyrilamine and prophenpyridamine; Any polymer containing at least one acid labile back 6. Steroidal anti-inflammatory agents such as hydro bone bond per repeat unit (preferably two per repeat cortisone, cortisone, hydrocortisone acetate, dexameth 4,639,366 3 4. asone, dexamethasone 21-phosphate, fluocinolone, tri of metals, amines, or organic cations (e.g., quaternary amcinolone, medrysone, prednisolone, prednisolone ammonium) can be employed. Furthermore, simple 21-phosphate, and prednisolone acetate; derivatives of the drugs (such as ethers, esters, amides, 7. Decongestants such as phenylephrine, naphazoline, etc.) which have desirable retention and release charac and tetrahydrazoline; teristics but which are easily hydrolyzed by body pH, 8. Miotics such as pilocarpine, eserine salicylate, car enzymes, etc., can be employed. bachol, diisopropyl fluorophosphate, phospholine io The amount of drug or beneficial substance incorpo dide, and demecarium bromide; rated into the polymer matrix will vary greatly depend 9. Anticholinergics such as atropine sulfate, cyclo ing on the particular drug, the desired therapeutic effect pentolate, homatropine, scopolamine, tropicamide, eu 10 and the time span in which the polymer matrix is eroded catropine, and hydroxyamphetamine; to release the particular drug. Thus, there is no critical 10. Sympathomimetics such as epinephrine; upper limit on the amount of drug incorporated in the 11. Sedatives and Hypnotics such as pentabarbital polymer matrix and the lower limit will also depend on sodium, phenobarbital, secobarbital sodium, codeine, the activity of the drug (usually at least 0.1%, prefera (a-bromoisovaleryl)urea, carbromal; 15 bly 0.1 to 30%, by weight, based on the total weight of 12. Psychic Energizers such as 3-(2-aminopropyl)in the device) and the time span for the erosion of the dole acetate, 3-(2-aminobutyl)indole acetate and ami polymer and subsequently the drug release. Thus, it is triptyline; not practical to define a range for the therapeutically 13. Tranquilizers such as reserpine, chlorpromazine, effective amount of drug to be incorporated in the novel thiopropazate and perphenazine; 20 polymer matrixes of the instant invention. 14. Androgenic steroids such