Medical device containing a cake composition comprising aripiprazole as an active ingredient, and a cake composition comprising aripiprazole as an active ingredient

Abstract

The present invention provides a medical device containing a cake composition comprising aripiprazole as an active ingredient and capable of suppressing agglomeration of aripiprazole in a suspension obtained by resuspending a freeze-dried substance; and a cake composition comprising aripiprazole as an active ingredient. The present invention relates to a medical device containing, in a storage container whose inner wall is treated with silicone, a freeze-dried cake composition comprising separately prepared aripiprazole as an active ingredient, wherein there is a space between the inner wall and the cake composition; and a cake composition comprising aripiprazole as an active ingredient and having a strength of 5 to 100 N.

Claims

1. A medical device containing a separately prepared freeze-dried cake composition comprising aripiprazole as an active ingredient in a storage container whose inner wall is treated with silicone, wherein the medical device is a dual-chamber syringe, the dual-chamber syringe has a front stopper and a middle stopper, there is a space between the inner wall of the storage container and the cake composition, the cake composition has a cylindrical shape, a side surface of the cylindrical cake composition is sloped, an angle of the slope is 0.1 to 10 degrees, a top surface of the cylindrical cake composition is raised, a distance between the peak of the raised portion and the top surface is 0.5 to 5 mm, and the cake composition is enclosed such that contact with the front stopper or the middle stopper is reduced due to the raised portion of the top surface.

2. The medical device containing the cake composition according to claim 1, wherein the cake composition is a cake composition that was freeze-dried in a container separate from the storage container.

3. The medical device containing the cake composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the apparent volume of the cake composition accounts for 30 to 99% of the volume of the storage container.

4. The medical device containing the cake composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage container treated with silicone is a vial or syringe.

5. The medical device containing the cake composition according to claim 4, wherein the syringe has multiple chambers and the cake composition is contained in at least one chamber.

6. The medical device containing the cake composition according to claim 4, wherein the syringe has a chamber (A) for containing the cake composition, and a chamber (B) for containing an injection liquid; the chamber (A) is arranged on the side where a needle is placed, and the chamber (B) is arranged on the side where a plunger is placed; and the cake composition is contained in the chamber (A) and the injection liquid is contained in the chamber (B).

7. The medical device containing the cake composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cake composition has a strength of 5 to 100 N.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating one embodiment of a dual chamber syringe.

(2) FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the dual chamber syringe at the time of use.

(3) FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the dual chamber syringe at the time of use.

(4) FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the dual chamber syringe at the time of use.

(5) FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cylindrical cake composition having a sloped side surface.

(6) FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cylindrical cake composition having a sloped side surface and raised top surface.

(7) FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of the shape of a container, which is separate from the storage container, used for preparing the cylindrical cake composition.

(8) FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of the shape of a container, which is separate from the storage container, used for preparing the cake cylindrical composition.

(9) FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of the shape of a container, which is separate from the storage container, used for preparing the cylindrical cake composition.

(10) FIG. 10 is a photograph of the side surface of the cake composition prepared in Example 1.

(11) FIG. 11 is a photograph of the side surface of the cake composition prepared in Example 6.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Examples

(12) The present invention is described below in more detail with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples. It should be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

Example 1

(13) The components shown below were individually dissolved or suspended in water to prepare a dispersion containing the components in the following amounts per 1 mL of the final dispersion: 12.48 mg of carboxymethyl cellulose, 62.4 mg of mannitol, 1.11 mg of sodium dihydrogen phosphate monohydrate, and 312.0 mg of aripiprazole hydrate. The pH was adjusted to about 7 with sodium hydroxide.

(14) This suspension was preliminarily pulverized with a high-shear rotary homogenizer (Clearmix, produced by M Technique Co., Ltd.), and then repeatedly wet pulverized with a high-pressure homogenizer (produced by Niro) at 550 bar to a mean particle size of 3 μm or less to thereby produce a suspension of about 30% aripiprazole.

(15) About 1.7 mL of the suspension prepared above (containing about 510 mg of aripiprazole) was inserted into a polyethylene-molded plastic container having an inner side surface sloped at an angle of 2° and having a bottom surface with a thickness of 1 mm or less, the container being deformable so as to allow ejection of a freeze-dried product therefrom when the bottom surface is pressed from the outside. The container containing the suspension was transferred to a freeze-dryer, and freeze-dried according to the cycle described below to obtain a cake composition. The theoretical content of aripiprazole in the cake composition was about 77% by mass. The obtained cake composition had an apparent volume that was substantially the same as the volume originally inserted, with only a slight increase being observed. Thus, the apparent volume was about 1,700 mm.sup.3. FIG. 10 shows a photograph of the cake composition.

(16) (a) Thermal treatment: The product was frozen by being maintained at about −40° C. for at least 3 hours.

(17) (b) Primary drying: Primary drying was continued for at least 24 hours at an increased shelf temperature of about −5° C. under a pressure of about 20 Pa or less.

(18) The obtained cake composition was removed from the plastic container. The cake composition had a shape such that the top surface was raised by 2 mm from the inserted liquid level, and the side surface was sloped at an angle of 1° or more. Other cake compositions prepared simultaneously were also measured. The results showed that all of the cake compositions were raised by 0.5 mm or more.

(19) The strength of the obtained cake composition was measured using an Autograph AG-I Universal Testing Instruments (Shimadzu Corporation) by sandwiching and pressing the cake composition of FIG. 6 from the top and bottom. The cake composition had a strength of 49 N.

(20) Results and Discussion

(21) The cake composition obtained in Example 1 had a relatively high strength of 49 N. Therefore, the freeze-dried cake composition was easily removed from the container without being broken when ejected from the container.

(22) The cake composition obtained in Example 1 was characterized by slight swelling when freeze-dried. In Example 1, the inner side surface of the plastic container was sloped. Therefore, by using a container that could be deformed by pressing the bottom surface, the freeze-dried cake composition was easily removed from the container without the necessity of using other movable parts for ejecting the cake composition from the container or applying a release agent to the inner surface of the container, while retaining its freeze-dried shape from within the container.

Examples 2-1 to 2-9

1. Production of Siliconized Syringe

(23) Dow Corning®365, 35% Dimethicone NF Emulsion (produced by Dow Corning Corporation) was diluted to various concentrations with purified water. The silicone oil emulsion thus prepared was applied to a glass syringe (inner diameter Φ14.0×length 106 mm; inner area 4,660 mm.sup.2, capacity 16,309 mm.sup.3), and the water was evaporated to dryness at about 300° C.

(24) The silicone oil applied to the inner surface of the glass was quantified by washing the inner surface of the glass tube with methyl isobutyl ketone, and then measuring the solution using an atomic absorption spectrometer with an Si measurement lamp under the following conditions.

(25) Measurement wavelength: 251.6 nm

(26) Drying: From 50 to 80° C., 40 sec

(27) Ashing: 1,000° C., 20 sec

(28) Atomization: 2,700° C., 5 sec

(29) Cleaning: 2,800° C., 15 sec

(30) Cooling: 17 sec

2. Resuspension of the Cake Composition

(31) A suspension containing about 30% aripiprazole with a mean particle size of 2.1 μm was prepared and freeze-dried in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain a cake composition.

(32) The cake composition was transferred from the plastic container to a siliconized syringe produced as described above in 1. A stopper was disposed within the syringe. To maintain airtightness during storage, the stopper was characterized by being slightly larger than the inner diameter of the syringe and being slidable due to silicone oil applied to the inner side surface of the syringe. The cake composition was transferred into the syringe, and then stored at room temperature for about 1 month. The amount of silicone oil in the cake composition was determined by extracting a resuspension of the cake composition in water with methyl isobutyl ketone, and then measuring the methyl isobutyl ketone solution using an atomic absorption spectrometer.

(33) After storage for about 1 month, the cake composition was resuspended in about 2 mL of water, and the particle size in the suspension was measured using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer produced by Shimadzu Corporation (SALD-3000J or SALD-3100). The measurement was done at a refractive index of 2.00 to 0.20i, using water as the measurement medium in a circulation cell. Separately, the suspension was sonicated for 1 minute with an ultrasonic wave generator attached to the particle size analyzer, and the mean particle size of the sonicated suspension was measured in the same manner as described above.

(34) Table 1 shows the mean particle size of aripiprazole before freeze-drying, the concentration of silicone oil applied to the syringe, the amount of silicone oil on the syringe, the amount of silicone oil after 1-month storage of the syringe containing the cake composition at room temperature and resuspension of the cake composition, and the mean particle size of aripiprazole after resuspension.

(35) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 One-month storage at room temperature Mean particle Amount of silicone size of oil in the cake Mean particle size of aripiprazole in Concentration Amount of composition after aripiprazole (μm) the suspension of silicone oil silicone oil resuspension Without With Example before freeze- in the emulsion on the syringe (μg/100 mg of the Ultrasonic ultrasonic No. drying (μm) (% by mass) (μg/100 mm.sup.2) active ingredient) treatment treatment 2-1 2.1 35 75 22 2.1 2.1 2-2 20 45 6 2.1 2.1 2-3 15 36 7 2.1 2.0 2-4 10 24 4 2.1 2.0 2-5 7 14 4 2.1 2.1 2-6 5 11 3 2.1 2.0 2-7 2 3 5 2.0 2.0 2-8 1 2 4 2.0 2.0 2-9 0.5 1 5 2.1 2.1 Reference 0 0 2 2.0 2.1 Example
Results and Discussion

(36) As shown in Table 1, the amount of silicone oil in the resuspended cake compositions varied according to the concentration of silicone oil in the emulsion applied.

(37) In addition, even when the concentration of silicone oil in the emulsion applied was 0%, silicone oil was detected in the cake composition (Reference Example). This was probably because the silicone oil originally contained in the stopper had transferred to the cake composition. However, because the cake composition had a convex, i.e., raised, top surface as described in Example 1, which minimized the contact of the cake composition with the stopper, the amount of silicone oil mixed into the cake composition was extremely small.

(38) No change in the mean particle size of aripiprazole was observed in any of the syringes prepared using various concentrations of the silicone oil emulsions in Examples 2-1 to 2-9. Agglomeration of particles due to silicone oil can be confirmed by a reduction of the particle size in the measurement under ultrasonic irradiation. The particle size was measured before and after ultrasonic irradiation, and no change was observed in the particle size therebetween. Accordingly, it was determined that no agglomeration had occurred.

Example 3

(39) A suspension containing about 30 mass % aripiprazole was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, and freeze-dried to obtain a cake composition.

(40) A dual chamber syringe with an inner diameter of 14 mm as shown in FIG. 1 (capacity of the chamber in which the cake composition was enclosed: about 3,000 mm.sup.3) was used as the syringe, and a middle stopper 4 as shown in FIG. 1 was fitted using the sleeve cap method. After about 1.7 mL of water was inserted into the syringe, an end stopper 5 was fitted using the sleeve cap method.

(41) The aripiprazole-containing cake composition obtained by freeze-drying in a plastic container was removed from the plastic container by pressing the bottom surface of the plastic container, and directly transferred to a space on a middle stopper 4 as shown in FIG. 1 in the syringe in which water was inserted. A front stopper 3 as shown in FIG. 1 was fitted using the sleeve cap method. A front assembly 12 as shown in FIG. 1 was fitted onto the syringe to obtain a prefilled syringe containing the cake composition with aripiprazole as an active ingredient.

(42) The apparent volume of the cake composition was about 60% of the capacity of the storage container of the prefilled syringe (the capacity of the chamber in which the cake composition was enclosed). The end stopper was pressed by a plunger to allow water as a redispersion medium to flow into the chamber A in which the cake composition was enclosed. After mixing, the syringe was vigorously shaken to achieve complete resuspension. The end stopper was pressed to the end to expel the medicinal fluid from the syringe. The amount of medicinal fluid remaining in the syringe was measured and found to be about 36 to 40 mg (about 38 mg on average).

(43) This is the amount of medicinal fluid remaining in the gaps of the stopper and the front assembly, i.e., the so-called dead space of the outlet. It was considered that the prefilled syringe obtained by this method fully performed the functions required for administration.

(44) Likewise, using a prefilled syringe in which the cake composition containing aripiprazole as an active ingredient was enclosed, the end stopper was slowly pressed to allow water as a redispersion medium to flow into a front chamber for about 5 seconds. Without shaking the syringe at all, the end stopper was pressed to the end to expel the suspension from the syringe.

(45) The amount of medicinal fluid remaining in the syringe was measured and found to be about 74 to 95 mg (about 85 mg on average). The amount of medicinal fluid remaining in the gaps of the stopper and the front assembly, i.e., the so-called dead space of the outlet, was about 38 mg on average. Since the syringe was not shaken, about 47 mg, which was obtained by subtracting 38 mg from 85 mg, remained in the syringe. However, it was considered that the prefilled syringe obtained by this method was satisfactory to perform the functions required for administration.

Example 4

(46) The components shown below were individually dissolved or suspended in water to prepare a dispersion containing the components in the following amounts per 1 mL of the final dispersion: 8.32 mg of carboxymethyl cellulose, 4.16 mg of mannitol, 0.74 mg of sodium dihydrogen phosphate monohydrate, and 208.0 mg of aripiprazole hydrate. The pH was adjusted to about 7 with sodium hydroxide.

(47) This suspension was preliminarily pulverized with a high-shear rotary homogenizer (Clearmix, produced by M Technique Co., Ltd.), and then repeatedly wet pulverized with a high-pressure homogenizer (produced by Niro) at 550 bar to a mean particle size of 3 μm or less to thereby produce a suspension containing about 20 mass % aripiprazole.

(48) About 2 mL of the suspension prepared above (containing about 400 mg of aripiprazole) was inserted into a polyethylene-molded plastic container having an inner side surface sloped at an angle of 2° and having a bottom surface with a thickness of 1 mm or less, the container being deformable so as to allow ejection of a freeze-dried product therefrom when the bottom surface was pressed from the outside. The container containing the suspension was transferred to a freeze-dryer, and freeze-dried according to the cycle described below to obtain a cake composition. The theoretical content of aripiprazole in the cake composition was about 77% by mass. The obtained cake composition had an apparent volume that was substantially the same as the volume originally inserted, with only a slight increase being observed. Thus, the apparent volume was about 2,000 mm.sup.3.

(49) (a) Thermal treatment: The product was frozen by being maintained at about −40° C. for at least 3 hours.

(50) (b) Primary drying: Primary drying was continued for at least 24 hours at an increased shelf temperature of about −5° C. under a pressure of about 20 Pa or less.

(51) The obtained cake composition was removed from the plastic container by pressing the bottom surface of the plastic container. The cake composition was easily removed from the container while retaining its freeze-dried shape from within the container, without the necessity of using other movable parts for ejecting the cake composition from the container or applying a release agent to the inner surface of the container.

Examples 5-1 to 5-3

(52) A suspension containing about 30 mass % aripiprazole was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. This suspension was diluted with purified water to suspensions containing about 10 mass, 20 mass %, and 30 mass % aripiprazole. These suspensions were freeze-dried in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain cake compositions. Table 2 shows the ease of removal of the obtained cake compositions from the containers.

(53) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Concentration of Example aripiprazole Strength No. (% by mass) (N) Removal from the container 5-1 10.5 6.90 Smoothly removed from the container. 5-2 20.8 42.29 Smoothly removed from the container. 5-3 32.5 48.98 Smoothly removed from the container.
Results and Discussion

(54) Each of the aripiprazole-containing cake compositions obtained by freeze-drying in a plastic container was removed from the plastic container by pressing the bottom surface of the plastic container. All of the cake compositions obtained in Examples 5-1 to 5-3 were easily removed from the containers. The strength of the cake compositions obtained by freeze-drying was measured using an Autograph AG-I Universal Testing Instruments (Shimadzu Corporation) in the same manner as in Example 1. The cake composition produced by using the suspension containing about 10 mass % aripiprazole prepared in Example 5-1 had a strength of about 7 N. Even when the container is configured to allow easy removal, the cake composition must have some strength.

Example 6

(55) A container as described in Example 1 was produced using polypropylene, and a cake composition was produced in the same manner as in Example 1.

(56) The cake composition obtained by freeze-drying in the plastic container was removed from the plastic container by pressing the bottom surface of the plastic container, and directly transferred to a syringe. The cake composition was easily removed from the container while retaining its freeze-dried shape from within the container, without the necessity of using other movable parts for ejecting the cake composition from the container or applying a release agent to the inner surface of the container. FIG. 11 shows a photograph of the cake composition obtained.

(57) It was confirmed that the obtained cake composition had an elevated portion on the circumference of the upper surface. The obtained cake composition was raised by 0.5 mm or more on the circumference of the upper surface, although the shape was different from that of the cake composition obtained using the polyethylene container described above in Example 1.

(58) The cake composition was enclosed in a syringe to produce a prefilled syringe (capacity of the chamber in which the cake composition was enclosed: about 3,500 mm.sup.3). The apparent volume of the cake composition was about 50% of the capacity of the storage container of the prefilled syringe (the capacity of the chamber in which the cake composition was enclosed). The syringe used was a so-called single chamber type having only one space for containing a medicinal agent. The freeze-dried cake composition was easily resuspended by drawing water as a redispersion medium into the syringe during the resuspension.

Example 7

(59) A suspension containing about 30 mass % aripiprazole was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1. About 1.5 mL to about 1.7 mL of this suspension was inserted into a polyethylene-molded plastic container, and freeze-dried to obtain a cake composition. The obtained cake composition weighed about 600 mg. This cake composition was placed on a sieve with 2 mm openings and a diameter of 80 mm, and covered with a lid that was 22 mm above the sieve. The sieve was secured in a Bioshaker V-BR-36 produced by TAITEC Co., Ltd., and shaken at 300 rpm for 10 minutes. The amount of powder passing through the sieve openings was about 1 to 9 mg.

(60) Results and Discussion

(61) The results of Example 7 showed that in spite of being produced by freeze-drying, this cake composition was not brittle and was less likely to break and generate fine powder due to impacts during transportation, etc. Freeze-dried cake compositions are generally brittle, and often break due to strong impacts as in the above test. If fine powder is generated from this pharmaceutical preparation, it may come into contact with the silicone on the inner surface A in FIG. 1 and thereby increase the particle size, etc.; furthermore, the generation of fine powder would cause an undesirable appearance. The above results showed that this production method can produce a cake composition whose surface is not brittle and from which it is unlikely to generate fine powder.

Examples 8-1 to 8-3

(62) A suspension containing about 30% aripiprazole was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that sucrose was used in place of mannitol. The suspension was diluted with purified water in the same manner as in Example 5 to suspensions containing about 10 mass, 20 mass, and 30 mass % aripiprazole. Using plastic containers, the suspensions were freeze-dried. As in Example 1, without the necessity of using other movable parts for ejecting the cake composition from the container or applying a release agent to the inner surface of the container, each cake composition was easily removed from the container while retaining its freeze-dried shape from within the container. Table 3 shows the ease of removal of the obtained cake compositions from the containers.

(63) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Concentration of Example aripiprazole Strength No. (% by mass) (N) Removal from the container 8-1 11.2 11.01 Smoothly removed from the container 8-2 21.4 33.04 Smoothly removed from the container. 8-3 32.8 48.72 Smoothly removed from the container.
Results and Discussion

(64) Even when mannitol was used in place of sucrose, the cake composition produced using a suspension containing about 10 mass % aripiprazole had a strength of about 11 N.

Comparative Examples 1-1 to 1-9

(65) A suspension containing about 30 mass % aripiprazole with a mean particle size of 2.2 μm was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. Into syringes produced by applying silicone oil emulsions of various concentrations prepared in Example 2 and drying, a middle stopper with an outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the syringe was fitted using the sleeve cap method. About 1.5 mL of the suspension was inserted into the space on the middle stopper, and freeze-dried as is within the syringe. After the freeze-drying, a front stopper was fitted using the sleeve cap method.

(66) After freeze-drying, the syringes were stored at room temperature for about 1 month, and the amount of silicone oil in the cake composition was measured in the same manner as in Example 2. In each of the syringes containing the cake composition, the cake composition adhered to the syringe tube, and there was no space between the inner wall of the syringe and the cake composition.

(67) Table 4 shows the mean particle size of aripiprazole before freeze-drying, the concentration of silicone oil applied to the syringe, the amount of silicone oil on the syringe, the amount of silicone oil after 1-month storage of the syringe containing the cake composition at room temperature and resuspension of the cake composition, and the mean particle size of aripiprazole after resuspension.

(68) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 One-month storage at room temperature Mean particle Amount of silicone size of oil in the cake Mean particle size of aripiprazole in Concentration Amount of composition after aripiprazole (μm) Comparative the suspension of silicone oil silicone oil resuspension Without With Example before freeze- in the emulsion on the syringe (μg/100 mg of the ultrasonic ultrasonic No. drying (μm) (% by mass) (μg/100 mm.sup.2) active ingredient) treatment treatment 1-1 2.2 35 75 49 3.5 2.5 1-2 20 45 41 3.1 2.3 1-3 15 36 49 3.1 2.4 1-4 10 24 38 3.1 2.4 1-5 7 14 27 2.9 2.4 1-6 5 11 24 2.8 2.3 1-7 2 3 26 2.7 2.2 1-8 1 2 16 2.6 2.3 1-9 0.5 1 19 2.5 2.3 Reference 0 0 14 2.3 2.2 Example
Results and Discussion

(69) The results shown in Table 4 indicate that the higher the concentration of silicone oil emulsion applied to the syringe, the higher the silicone oil content of the cake composition; and the higher the concentration of silicone oil applied to the syringe, the greater the change in the mean particle size. Compared to a prefilled syringe preparation using the cake composition obtained by freeze-drying in a storage container different from that described in Example 2, different results were obtained even at the same concentration of silicone oil emulsion applied.

(70) Even when the concentration of silicone oil in the emulsion applied was 0%, silicone oil was detected in the cake composition. This was probably because the silicone oil originally contained in the stopper had transferred to the cake composition.

(71) When agglomerated particles are measured under ultrasonic irradiation, the size of loose particles changes. When the particle size was measured under ultrasonic irradiation in this Comparative Example, a reduction in particle size was observed. This result indicates that according to the method comprising freeze-drying in a syringe, silicone oil causes agglomeration.

Comparative Examples 2-1 to 2-12

(72) Suspensions containing about 20 mass % aripiprazole with a mean particle size of 2.0 μm and 2.4 μm were individually prepared in the same manner as in Example 4. Into syringes produced by applying the silicone oil emulsions of various concentrations prepared in Example 2, a middle stopper with an outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the syringe was fitted using the sleeve cap method. About 2 mL of the suspension was inserted into the space on the middle stopper, and freeze-dried as is within the syringe. In each of the syringes containing the cake composition, the cake composition adhered to the syringe tube, and there was no space between the inner wall of the syringe and the cake composition.

(73) After the freeze-drying, the syringes were stored at room temperature for 1 month, 2 months and 3 months. After the storage, the cake composition within the syringes was resuspended in about 2 mL of water, and the mean particle size was measured in the same manner as in Example 2. Table 5 shows the concentration of silicone oil applied to the syringe, the mean particle size of aripiprazole before freeze-drying, and the mean particle size of aripiprazole after storage at room temperature for 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months, and resuspension.

(74) TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Mean particle Mean particle size size of (measurement without Concentration aripiprazole ultrasonic treatment) (μm) of silicone oil in the suspension One-month Two-month Three-month Comparative in the before storage at storage at storage at Example emulsion freeze-drying room room room No. (% by mass) (μm) temperature temperature temperature 2-1 35 2.0 3.7 3.6 5.3 2-2 30 3.3 3.8 3.6 2-3 25 2.6 2.9 3.1 2-4 20 3.3 3.4 4.5 2-5 15 2.6 3.0 2.6 2-6 10 2.4 3.3 3.6 3.5 2-7 7 3.1 3.1 3.1 2-8 5 2.9 2.9 2.9 2-9 2 2.6 2.7 2.7 2-10 1 2.5 2.7 2.6 2-11 0.5 2.5 2.6 2.5 2-12 0.2 2.5 2.6 2.6
Results and Discussion

(75) As shown in Table 5, the results indicate that the higher the concentration of silicone oil emulsion applied to the syringe, the greater the change in the particle size. As in Comparative Example 1, even with the use of a suspension containing about 20 mass % aripiprazole, if the cake composition obtained by freeze-drying within a syringe was resuspended as is, changes in the mean particle size of aripiprazole were observed.

Comparative Example 3

(76) A suspension containing about 30 mass % aripiprazole was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. Into a syringe produced by applying a 5 mass % silicone oil emulsion in the same manner as in Example 2, a middle stopper with an outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the syringe was fitted using the sleeve cap method. About 1.5 mL of the suspension was inserted into the space on the middle stopper, and the syringe was transferred to a freeze-dryer. The suspension was freeze-dried according to the cycle described below to prepare a syringe in which the cake composition was enclosed. In the syringe containing the cake composition, the cake composition adhered to the syringe tube, and there was no space between the inner wall of the syringe and the cake composition.

(77) (a) Thermal treatment: The product was frozen by being maintained at about −40° C. for about 3 hours.

(78) (b) Primary drying: Primary drying was continued for at least 24 hours at an increased shelf temperature of about −5° C. under a pressure of about 20 Pa or less.

(79) A front stopper was fitted above the cake composition within the obtained syringe (on the needle side, at the position of front stopper 3 shown in FIG. 1) using the sleeve cap method. About 1.7 mL of water as a redispersion medium was inserted into chamber B, which is defined by the middle stopper and the end stopper of the prefilled syringe. The end stopper was fitted using the sleeve cap method. A front assembly was incorporated into the syringe tip ejection portion. The end stopper was slowly pressed to allow water as a redispersion medium to flow into a front chamber for about 5 seconds. Without shaking the syringe at all, the end stopper was pressed to the end to expel the medicinal fluid from the syringe. The amount of medicinal fluid remaining in the syringe was measured and found to be about 159 mg.

(80) Results and Discussion

(81) A dual chamber prefilled syringe preparation is generally prepared by being freeze-dried within a syringe as described in Comparative Example 3. Similar to the above, after water was allowed to flow into a front chamber over a period of about 5 seconds, a medicinal fluid was expelled without shaking the syringe at all. The amount of medicinal fluid remaining was measured and found to be about 159 mg, i.e., a very large amount. Thus, the results show that compared to the method of Example 3, in which about 85 mg of medicinal fluid remained, the general method described in Comparative Example 3 exhibited poor redispersibility.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

(82) A: Chamber B: Chamber 1: Dual chamber syringe 2: Syringe tube 3: Front stopper 4: Middle stopper 5: End stopper 6: Tip 7: Opening 8: Cake composition 9: Injection liquid 10: Silicone 11: Bypass 12: Front assembly 13: Hypodermic needle 14: Plunger 15: Suspension a: Angle a′: Angle L: Length from the raised top point to the top surface 16: Container 17: Opening 18: Bottom surface 19: Outer frame