Inventors:
Solomon S. Steiner - Mount Kisco NY
Rodney J. Woods - New Hampton NY
Joseph W. Sulner - Paramus NJ
Assignee:
MannKind Corporation - Danbury CT
International Classification:
A61K 914
US Classification:
424489, 424499, 424490, 424491, 424434, 514 1, 514 2, 514 3
Abstract:
Methods are provided for purifying peptides and proteins by incorporating the peptide or protein into a diketopiperazine or competitive complexing agent to facilitate removal one or more impurities, i. e. undesirable components, from the peptide or protein. In a preferred embodiment, a peptide, such as insulin, containing one or more impurities, e. g. , zinc ions, is entrapped in diketopiperazine to form a precipitate of peptide/diketopiperazine/impurity, which is then washed with a solvent for the impurity to be removed, which is a nonsolvent for the diketopiperazine and a nonsolvent for the peptide. Formulations and methods also are provided for the improved transport of active agents across biological membranes, resulting for example in a rapid increase in blood agent concentration. The formulations include microparticles formed of (i) the active agent, which may be charged or neutral, and (ii) a transport enhancer that masks the charge of the agent and/or that forms hydrogen bonds with the target biological membrane in order to facilitate transport. In a preferred embodiment, insulin is administered via the pulmonary delivery of microparticles comprising fumaryl diketopiperazine and insulin in its biologically active form.