CyDex Pharmaceuticals taste-masking formulation patent and patent application up for sale

Apr 6 2009

IpAuctions, Inc. will auction one pharmaceutical patent and one patent application on behalf of specialty pharmaceutical company CyDex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Lenexa, Kansas, USA.

The patent application is for a novel taste-masking formulation which CyDex has developed. CyDex's Captisol (sulfobutyl ether â-cyclodextrin) has been combined with Sertraline (the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug commercially sold as ZOLOFT, the anti-anxiety drug manufactured by Pfizer Inc. of New York, New York, USA.) Key benefits of this formulation by CyDex are: the previously bitter taste of the drug is masked; no dilution of the medicine is required; and, as an oral concentrate, this formulation may be administered via multiple beverages - such as juice, soda, etc. - without precipitation.

The second medical patent to be auctioned by IpAuctions, Inc. on behalf of CyDex Pharmaceutical, Inc. is one for a formulation containing Propofol and Captisol. Propofol is a sedative hypnotic drug, and in this patented formulation, there is reduced incidence of pain upon injection. CyDex's Captisol-enabled Propofol forms a "true aqueous solution and is not a suspension," according to the U.S. Patent abstract.

Propofol is most commonly used as a short-acting intravenous sedative agent before the introduction of general anesthesia and during maintenance of general anesthesia. It often is used in veterinary procedures. Key benefits of CyDex's Captisol-enabled Propofol are:

The solution is not an emulsion like the current forms of products using propofol; the solution is stable; there are no "lipid-loading" concerns (hyperlipidemia) for children and senior citizens with nutritional support issues; the solution contains no sulfites, thus reducing allergies (for example, egg allergies); this formulation is easy to sterilize and manufacture; and finally, the solution is freezable.

CyDex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is selling the patent application for the Sertraline formulation and the patent for the Propofol formulation "because these two developments are outside of the corporation's target markets," explained Ralph S. Johnston, vice president of business development and marketing, CyDex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.