Improved Bioavailability with Dry Powder Cannabidiol Inhalation: A Phase 1 Clinical Study.

Oral cannabidiol (CBD) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes and tuberous sclerosis complex. The therapeutic potential of oral CBD formulations is limited by extensive first-pass hepatic metabolism. Following oral administration, the inactive metabolite blood concentration is ∼40-fold higher than CBD.

Heat-Stable Dry Powder Oxytocin Formulations for Delivery by Oral Inhalation.

In this work, heat stable dry powders of oxytocin (OT) suitable for delivery by oral inhalation were prepared. The OT dry powders were prepared by spray drying using excipients chosen to promote OT stability including trehalose, isoleucine, polyvinylpyrrolidone, citrate (sodium citrate and citric acid), and zinc salts (zinc chloride and zinc citrate). Characterization by laser diffraction indicated that the OT dry powders had a median particle size of 2 μm, making them suitable for delivery by inhalation.

Peptide therapeutics: it's all in the delivery.

Recent work has demonstrated that the route of administration affects the pharmacokinetics and biological activity of peptides. For example, the physiological profile of insulin consists of basal and prandial components with a small-scale oscillatory element. Insulin is used more efficiently when the pharmacokinetic profile mimics features of physiological release.

Next-Generation Protein Therapeutics Summit conference report.

The 2011 Next-Generation Protein Therapeutics Summit integrated five promising strategic approaches to designing and realizing the next generations of protein and biologic drugs. The conference sessions focused on non-antibody and antibody therapeutics, innovations in improving the physicochemical properties of these drugs, routes of administration, methodologies for reducing unwanted immunogenic reactions, and novel drugs from non-natural amino acids.

Annual Inhaled Drug Delivery Conference.

The Annual Inhaled Drug Delivery Conference organized by Management Forum was held in London, UK, 9-10 November 2010. The meeting focused on a range of disease therapies from the pulmonary indications routinely treated with inhaled medicines (asthma, cystic firbrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) to novel applications of the inhalation route to treat systemic diseases (irritable bowel disease, schizophrenia, migraine, diabetes and obesity).

Natural peptides to drugs - fourth international congress.

The Natural Peptides to Drugs congress, held in Zermatt, Switzerland, included topics covering new therapeutic developments in the field of peptide- and protein-based drugs derived from natural products. This conference report highlights selected presentations on drug discovery from natural peptides, natural peptide-based drugs in preclinical and clinical development, and peptide candidates. Investigational drugs discussed include novel small peptides from KAI Pharmaceuticals Inc, XEP-018 (Atheris Laboratories), MKC-253 (MannKind Corp), AEZS-108 (AEterna Zentaris Inc) and XG-102 (Auris Medical AG/Xigen SA).

Technosphere insulin: defining the role of Technosphere particles at the cellular level.

Background: Technosphere Insulin (TI) is a novel inhalation powder for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Technosphere Insulin delivers insulin with an ultra rapid pharmacokinetic profile that is distinctly different from all other insulin products but similar to natural insulin release. Such rapid absorption is often associated with penetration enhancers that disrupt cellular integrity.