Post by mnholdem on Aug 31, 2014 9:03:05 GMT -5
MannKind : Patent Issued for Powder Dispensing and Sensing Apparatus and Methods
08/20/2014 | 04:39pm US/Eastern
By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Biotech Week -- MannKind Corporation (Valencia, CA) has been issued patent number 8803009, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors (see also MannKind Corporation). The patent's inventors are Poole, Trent A. (Amherst, MA); Bonneau, David F. (West Boylston, MA); Fog, Per B. (Bedford Hills, NY).
This patent was filed on June 20, 2012 and was published online on August 12, 2014.
Excerpt: "Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent: "Systems and methods are provided for simultaneously dispensing precisely-controlled doses of a powder into multiple cartridges. The powder can contain a drug, and the cartridges can be used in inhalers. The fill state of each cartridge, typically the powder weight, is sensed during filling, and powder dispenser modules are individually controlled in response to the sensed weight to ensure accurate dosage. The system operates at high speed and can be very compact to enable production filling operations with minimal floor space requirements."
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From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: "It has been proposed to deliver certain types of drugs to patients by inhalation of a powder as a delivery mechanism. One particular example uses diketopiperazine microparticles known as Technosphere.RTM. microparticles. The Technosphere microparticles have a platelet surface structure and can be loaded with a drug. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,461, issued Oct. 4, 1994 to Feldstein et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,852, issued Apr. 2, 1996 to Steiner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,497, issued Jun. 6, 2000 to Steiner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,771, issued Aug. 6, 2002 to Steiner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,444,226, issued Sep. 3, 2002 to Steiner et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,885, issued Nov. 25, 2003 to Steiner et al. One use of these microparticles is the delivery of insulin by inhalation. An inhaler having a replaceable cartridge or capsule containing the drug powder is used for drug delivery.
"The administration of drugs by inhalation typically requires a very small quantity of powder in the inhaler cartridge. By way of example, application of insulin using Technosphere microparticles can require a dose of as little as 10 milligrams of the powder. In addition, the drug dose must be highly accurate. A dose lower than specified may not have the desired therapeutic effect, while a larger than specified dose can have an adverse effect on the patient. Furthermore, while Technosphere microparticles are highly effective for drug delivery by inhalation, their platelet surface structure causes Technosphere powders to be cohesive and somewhat difficult to handle.
"In the commercialization of drug delivery by inhalation, large numbers of cartridges containing the drug must be produced in an efficient and economical manner. An accurate dose of powder must be delivered to each cartridge, and the drug dose in each cartridge must be verified. Manufacturing techniques and equipment should be capable of high throughput to meet demand and should be capable of handling powders which are cohesive and thus do not flow freely. Existing manufacturing techniques and equipment have not been adequate to meet these demands.
"Accordingly, there is a need for novel methods and apparatus for powder dispensing and sensing." The rest of the article describes the step-by-step process...
www.4-traders.com/MANNKIND-CORPORATION-10052/news/MannKind--Patent-Issued-for-Powder-Dispensing-and-Sensing-Apparatus-and-Methods-18928507/
It makes me wonder if a multiple Afrezza cartridges are being developed to accommodate a wider range of available doses, making Afrezza even more convenient to use.