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Recent Chronic Fatigue Syndrome News and Articles

• Patent Issued for Methods for the Treatment of CNS-Related Conditions
• Researchers from University of Florida Describe Findings in Rheumatology
• \"Compositions and Methods for Treatment of Chronic Fatigue\" in Patent Application Approval Process
• Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Encourages Investors Who Suffered $50,000 or More In Losses Investing In Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. To Contact The Firm
• Ryan & Maniskas, LLP Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc.
• Department of Biochemistry Details Research in Vaccines
• Investigators at Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Release New Data on Dental Research
• Investigators at Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care Target Electron Microscopy
• Studies from Montefiore Medical Center Have Provided New Information about Gastroenterology

Patent Issued for Compositions for the Treatment of CNS-Related Conditions

The assignee for this patent, patent number 8338485, is Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Emeryville, CA).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: "Acute and chronic neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases are among the leading causes of death, disability, and economic expense in the world. Presently, Alzheimer's disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the USA. Today there is no known cure for this chronic degenerative ailment, which directly affects millions of people throughout the world. Other diseases and disorders of the central nervous system also result in substantial suffering and cost for those afflicted by the ailments as well as their families and providers.

"Numerous drugs exist in the market today to treat the symptoms or manage the progression of these diseases, but most have modest or limited efficacy. Frequently, polypharmacy is employed to optimize therapy to the specific needs of patients at different stages of the disease. One of the key challenges in treating these disorders is the high degree of interplay amongst the pathways that control both normal and abnormal neuronal functions. The therapeutic management of these functions is typically determined such that the therapeutic effects are maximized while minimizing the debilitating side effects of the therapies. This effort is usually more complex when multiple therapeutics are employed.

"Improved therapeutics for treatment of these diseases and disorders are needed."

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent: "In general, the present invention provides methods and compositions for treating and preventing CNS-related conditions, such as neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease) and pain, by administering to a subject in need thereof a combination that includes an N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor (NMDAr) antagonist and a second agent such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (ACheI). The administration of the combinations described herein results in the alleviation and prevention of symptoms associated with or arising from CNS-related conditions such as Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease including, for example, loss of memory, loss of balance, hallucinations, delusions, agitation, withdrawal, depression, communication problems, cognitive loss, personality change, confusion and insomnia. The combinations of the present invention may be used in the prevention or treatment of CNS-related conditions associated with Alzheimer's disease and may also be helpful for the treatment and prevention of headaches, cerebrovascular diseases, motor neuron diseases, dementias, neurodegenerative diseases, strokes, movement disorders, ataxic syndromes, disorders of the sympathetic nervous system, cranial nerve disorders, myelopathies, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, radiation brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, post-meningitis syndrome, prion diseases, myelitic disorders, radiculitis, neuropathies, pain syndromes, axonic brain damage, encephalopathies, chronic fatigue syndrome, psychiatric disorders, glucose dysregulation, and drug dependence.

"The NMDAr antagonist, the ACheI, or both agents may be administered in an amount similar to that typically administered to subjects. Optionally, the amount of the NMDAr antagonist, the ACheI, or both agents may be administered in an amount greater than or less than the amount that is typically administered to subjects. If desired, the amount of the NMDAr antagonist in the pharmaceutical composition is less than the amount of NMDAr antagonist required in a unit dose to obtain the same therapeutic effect for treating or preventing a CNS-related condition when the NMDAr antagonist is administered in the absence of the ACheI. Alternatively, the amount of the ACheI in the pharmaceutical composition is less than the amount of the ACheI required in a unit dose to obtain the same therapeutic effect for treating or preventing a CNS-related condition when the ACheI is administered in the absence of the NMDAr antagonist. Optionally, the NMDAr antagonist, the ACheI, or both are present at a higher dose than that typically administered to a subject for a specific condition. For example, the amount of memantine (an NMDAr antagonist) required to positively affect the patient response (inclusive of adverse effects) may be 2.5-80 mg per day rather than the typical 10-20 mg per day administered for presently approved indications i.e. without the improved formulations described herein. A higher dose amount of the NMDAr antagonist in the present invention may be employed whereas a lower dose of the NMDAr antagonist may be sufficient when combined with the ACheI to achieve a therapeutic effect in the patient. Optionally, lower or reduced amounts of both the NMDAr antagonist and the ACheI are used in a unit dose relative to the amount of each agent when administered as a monotherapy. In a preferred embodiment, the amount of the NMDAr antagonist in the pharmaceutical composition is equal to or greater than the amount typically administered to a subject for a specific condition as a monotherapy and the amount of the ACheI in the pharmaceutical composition is less than the amount typically administered to a subject for a similar condition.

"The invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition that includes an NMDAr antagonist and an ACheI. Optionally, a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is included.

"Although compositions comprising a NMDAr antagonist and a second agent such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (ACheI) have been disclosed (e.g. US 2004/0087658), the problem of providing release of the NMDAr antagonist in a desired manner (e.g. in an amount high enough to treat symptoms or damaging effects of an underlying disease while avoiding undesirable side effects e.g. CNS side effects) when present as a combined therapy has not been addressed. In particular, the presently available dosage forms of NMDAr antagonists need to be administered frequently and require dose escalation at the initiation of therapy to avoid side effects associated with initial exposure to the therapeutic agent. This leads to difficulty in achieving adequate patient compliance, which is further exacerbated by the complicated dosing schedules of therapeutic modalities used for neurological or neuropsychiatric disorders. This problem has not been addressed in the context of providing an NMDAr antagonist as a combined therapy.

"Providing a NMDAr antagonist in combination with an ACheI requires careful formulation and the pharmacokinetic properties of the two agents will need to be taken into account, for instance to ensure that the amount and rate of release of each of the agents is sufficient for a therapeutic benefit whilst minimizing or avoiding undesired side effects. Further, not only do the pharmacokinetic properties of each of the drugs (e.g. Tmax, drug half-life etc.) need to be considered, but any interaction between the two agents is a further complicating factor.

"In one embodiment of the invention, the NMDAr antagonist, the ACheI, or both agents may be provided in a controlled or extended release form with or without an immediate release component in order to maximize the therapeutic benefit of each, while reducing unwanted side effects associated with each.

"As used herein, 'immediate release formulation' refers to a formulation of an active pharmaceutical ingredient that releases greater than 80 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredient in less than one hour in a USP dissolution method as described herein or by the manufacturer for a commercial product. Typically, the release of the active ingredient in an immediate release formulation is greater than 80 percent in less than 30 minutes as in FIGS. 1A and 2A.

"When these drugs are provided in an oral form without the benefit of controlled or extended release components, they are released and transported into the body fluids over a period of minutes to several hours. Thus, the composition of the invention may contain an NMDAr antagonist and a sustained release component, such as a coated sustained release matrix, a sustained release matrix, or a sustained release bead matrix. In one example, memantine (e.g., 5-80 mg) is formulated without an immediate release component using a polymer matrix (e.g., Eudragit), Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and a polymer coating (e.g., Eudragit). Such formulations are compressed into solid tablets or granules. Optionally, a coating such as Opadry.RTM. or Surelease.RTM. is used.

"As used herein the terms 'extended release dosage form', 'controlled release dosage form' and 'sustained release dosage form' and like expressions are used interchangeably and include dosage forms where the active drug substance or substances are released over an extended period of time. The term 'extended' release should be understood in contrast to immediate release and, in particular, the term indicates that the formulation does not release the full dose of the active ingredient immediately after dosing. Such extended release dosage forms typically allow a reduction in dosing frequency as compared to that presented by a conventional dosage form such as a solution or an immediate release dosage form. The extended release forms may or may not comprise an immediate release component.

"Optionally, the composition described herein is formulated such that at least one of said NMDAr antagonist or said ACheI has an in vitro dissolution profile less than 70% in one hour, less than 90% in two hours, greater than 40% in six hours, and greater than 85% in 12 hours as measured using a USP type 2 (paddle) dissolution system at 50 rpm, at a temperature of 37.+-.0.5.degree. with water as a dissolution medium.

"As used herein, 'C' refers to the concentration of an active pharmaceutical ingredient in a biological sample, such as a patient sample (e.g. blood, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid). The concentration of the drug in the biological sample may be determined by any standard assay method known in the art. The term 'Cmax' refers to the maximum concentration reached by a given dose of drug in a biological sample. The term 'Cmean' refers to the average concentration of the drug in the sample over time. Cmax and Cmean may be further defined to refer to specific time periods relative to administration of the drug. The time required to reach the maximal concentration ('Cmax') in a particular patient sample type is referred to as the 'Tmax.' The agents of the combination are administered in formulations that reduce the variability of the ratio of the concentrations of the active agents over a period of time, thereby maximizing the therapeutic benefit while minimizing the side effects.

"In a preferred embodiment, the dosage form is provided in a non-dose escalating, twice per day or once per day form. In such cases, the concentration ramp (or Tmax effect) may be reduced so that the change in concentration as a function of time (dC/dT) is altered to reduce or eliminate the need to dose escalate the drug. A reduction in dC/dT may be accomplished, for example, by increasing the Tmax in a relatively proportional manner. Accordingly, a two-fold increase in the Tmax value may reduce dC/dT by approximately a factor of 2. Thus, the NMDAr antagonist may be provided so that it is released at a rate that is significantly reduced over an immediate release (so called IR) dosage form, with an associated delay in the Tmax. The pharmaceutical composition may be formulated to provide a shift in Tmax by 24 hours, 16 hours, 8 hours, 4 hours, 2 hours, or at least 1 hour. The associated reduction in dC/dT may be by a factor of approximately 0.05, 0.10, 0.25, 0.5, or at least 0.8. In certain embodiments, this is accomplished by releasing less than 30%, 50%, 75%, 90%, or 95% of the NMDAr antagonist into the circulatory or neural system within one hour of such administration.

"The provision of such non-dose escalating dosage forms are particularly useful as they provide the drug at a therapeutically effective amount from the onset of therapy further improving patient compliance and adherence and enable the achievement of a therapeutically effective steady-state concentration of the drug in a shorter period of time. This results in an earlier indication of effectiveness and increasing the utility of these therapeutic agents for diseases and conditions where time is of the essence. Furthermore, the compositions of the present invention, by virtue of their design, allow for higher doses of the drug to be safely administered, again increasing the utility of these agents for a variety of indications.

"If desired, the NMDAr antagonist or the ACheI of the combination is released into a subject sample at a slower rate than observed for an immediate release (IR) formulation of the same quantity of the antagonist. The release rate is measured as the dC/dT over a defined period within the period of 0 to Tmax for the IR formulation and the dC/dT rate is less than about 80% of the rate for the IR formulation. In some embodiments, the dC/dT rate is less than about 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, or 10% of the rate for the IR formulation. Similarly, the ACheI may also be released into a patient sample at a slower rate than observed for an IR formulation of the same quantity wherein the release rate is measured as the dC/dT over a defined period within the period of 0 to Tmax for the IR formulation and the dC/dT rate is less than about 80%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, or 10%, of the rate for the IR formulation of the same NMDAr antagonist over the first 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 hours.

"Optionally, the sustained release formulations exhibit plasma concentration curves having initial (e.g., from 2 hours after administration to 4 hours after administration) slopes less than 75%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20% or 10% of those for an IR formulation of the same dosage of the same NMDAr antagonist. The precise slope for a given individual will vary according to the NMDAr antagonist being used, the quantity delivered, or other factors, including, for some active pharmaceutical agents, whether the patient has eaten or not. For other doses, e.g., those mentioned above, the slopes vary directly in relationship to dose.

"Using the sustained release formulations described herein, the NMDAr antagonist or the ACheI reaches a therapeutically effective steady state plasma concentration in a subject within the course of the first five, seven, nine, ten, twelve, fifteen, or twenty days of administration. For example, the formulations described herein, when administered at a substantially constant daily dose (e.g., memantine at a dose ranging between 15 mg and 80 mg and preferably between 20 and 45 mg) may reach a steady state plasma concentration in approximately 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, or less of the time required to reach such plasma concentration when using a dose escalating regimen.

"The ratio of the concentrations of two agents in a combination is referred to as the 'Cratio,' which may fluctuate as the combination of drugs is released, transported into the circulatory system or CNS, metabolized, and eliminated. An objective of the present invention is to stabilize the Cratio for the combinations described herein. In some embodiments, it is preferred to reduce or even minimize the variation in the Cratio (termed 'Cratio,var'). Employing the methods described herein, the release profiles of each active pharmaceutical ingredient may be modified to produce nearly constant Cratios, thereby minimizing Cratio,var. In cases where the Tmax and T1/2 of the NMDAr antagonist and the ACheI are markedly different, e.g. by a factor of two or more, the desired release profiles will likely be dissimilar in order to minimize the relative variability of the active agents between doses.

"The present invention therefore features formulations of combinations directed to dose optimization or release modification to reduce adverse effects associated with separate administration of each agent. The combination of the NMDAr antagonist and the ACheI may result in an additive or synergistic response, as described below.

"In all foregoing aspects of the invention, at least 50%, 80, 90%, 95%, or essentially all of the NMDAr antagonist in the pharmaceutical composition may be provided in a controlled release dosage form. In some embodiments, at least 99% of the NMDAr antagonist remains in the extended dosage form one hour following introduction of the pharmaceutical composition into a subject. The NMDAr antagonist may have a C.sub.max/C.sub.mean of approximately 2, 1.6, 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2 or less, approximately 2 hours to at least 8, 12, 16, 24 hours after the NMDAr antagonist is introduced into a subject. The ACheI may also be provided in a controlled release dosage form. Thus, at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or essentially all of the ACheI may be provided as a controlled release formulation. If provided as such, the ACheI may have a C.sub.max/C.sub.mean of approximately 2, 1.6, 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2 or less, approximately 2 hours to at least 6, 8, 12, 16, or 24 hours after the ACheI is introduced into a subject.

"The active pharmaceutical agents may be administered to the patient in a manner that reduces the variability of the ratio of the concentrations of the active agents over a period of time, thereby maximizing the therapeutic benefit while minimizing the side effects. The present invention differs from prior studies by providing novel combinations as well as formulations of combinations directed to dose optimization or release modification to reduce adverse effects associated with each agent.

"Optionally, the Cratio,var of the NMDAr antagonist and the ACheI is less than 100%, e.g., less than 70%, 50%, 30%, 20%, or 10% after the agents have reached steady-state conditions. Optionally, the Cratio,var of the NMDAr antagonist and the ACheI is less than 100%, e.g. less than 70%, 50%, 30%, 20%, or 10% during the first 24 hours post-administration of the agents. In some embodiments, the Cratio,var is less than about 90% (e.g., less than about 75% or 50%) of that for IR administration of the same active pharmaceutical ingredients over the first 4, 6, 8, or 12 hours after administration.

"In all foregoing aspects of the invention, the NMDAr antagonist may be an aminoadamantine derivative including memantine (1-amino-3,5-dimethyladamantane), rimantadine (1-(1-aminoethyl)adamantane), or amantadine (1-amino-adamantane). The ACheI, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, may be, e.g., donepezil/ARICEPT.RTM., rivastigmine/EXELON.RTM., galantamine/REMINYL.RTM., tacrine/COGNEX.RTM., metrifonate, or huperzine-A. Thus, in some embodiments, the NMDAr antagonist is memantine while the ACheI is donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, tacrine, metrifonate, or huperzine-A.

"In some embodiments, the NMDAr antagonist, the ACheI, or both agents are formulated for oral, intravenous, topical, intranasal, subtopical transepithelial, subdermal, or inhalation delivery. Thus, the agents described herein may be formulated as a suspension, capsule, tablet, suppository, lotion, patch, or device (e.g., a subdermally implantable delivery device or an inhalation pump). If desired, the NMDA antagonist and the ACheI may be admixed in a single composition. Alternatively, the two agents are delivered in separate formulations sequentially, or within one hour, two hours, three hours, six hours, 12 hours, or 24 hours of each other. If administered separately, the two agents may be administered by the same or different routes of administration three times a day, twice a day, once a day, or even once every two days. Optionally, the two agents are provided together in the form of a kit. Preferably, the NMDAr antagonist and the ACheI are provided in a unit dosage form.

"Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the invention, suitable methods and materials are described below. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In the case of conflict, the present Specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. All parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified."

For more information, see this patent: Went, Gregory T.; Fultz, Timothy J.; Meyerson, Laurence R.. Compositions for the Treatment of CNS-Related Conditions. U.S. Patent Number 8338485, filed June 28, 2012, and issued December 25, 2012. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser'Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=75&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=3705&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=20121225.PD.&OS=ISD/20121225&RS=ISD/20121225

Keywords for this news article include: Antidyskinetic, Antiparkinson Agents, Adamas Pharmaceuticals Inc., Pharmaceutical Companies, Blood, Drugs, Plasma, Therapy, Dementia, Memantine, Neurology, Amantadine, Hydrolases, Tauopathies, Dosage Forms, Hydrocarbons, Legal Issues, Neurosurgery, Brain Diseases, Dopamine Agent, Biogenic Amines, Alzheimer Disease.

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