Method and apparatus for the transdermal administration of a substance

Abstract

A transdermal delivery device includes a plurality of microneedles for injecting a substance such as a pharmaceutical agent into or below the stratum corneum of the skin. The device has housing formed from a top and bottom wall to define a chamber for containing a pharmaceutical agent. An inlet port is provided in the top wall of the housing for supplying the pharmaceutical agent to the chamber and directing the agent to the microneedles. The housing can have a Luer lock type fitting for coupling with a syringe having a Luer lock collar to inject the pharmaceutical agent into the housing. The housing can be divided into a plurality of chambers by an internal wall for supplying different agents simultaneously or sequentially to a patient. The microneedles have a length of about 5-250 microns and generally about 50-100 microns.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 441,035 filed on May 20, 2003 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 401,452 filed on Sep. 22, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,457 issued on Sep. 23, 2003.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for delivering a substance and particularly a pharmaceutical agent transdermally to a patient. More particularly, the invention is directed to a method and apparatus for delivering a pharmaceutical agent such as a vaccine to a patient through the stratum corneum. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The skin is made up of several layers with the upper composite layer being the epithelial layer. The outermost layer of the skin is the stratum corneum which has well known barrier properties to prevent molecules and various substances from entering the body and analytes from exiting the body. The stratum ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is about a method and apparatus for efficiently delivering pharmaceutical agents through the skin of a patient without causing pain. The invention involves using a device with small needles that can penetrate the stratum corneum of the skin and deliver the pharmaceutical agent to the body. The device can contain a reservoir of the pharmaceutical agent and can be attached to the skin using an adhesive patch. The device can also have channels to direct the fluid containing the pharmaceutical agent to the needles. The invention allows for the simultaneous or sequential delivery of multiple vaccines without the need for vaccine reformulation or combination. Overall, the invention provides a more efficient and painless method for delivering pharmaceutical agents through the skin.

Problems solved by technology

Iontophoresis can be difficult to control the amount and rate of drug delivery.

Under some circumstances, iontophoresis can cause skin damage depending on the extent of ionization, the energy applied to ionize the drug and duration of the treatment.

Although numerous efforts to enhance drug delivery using sonic energy have been proposed, the results generally show a low rate of drug delivery.

The prior methods and apparatus for the transdermal administration of drugs has exhibited limited success.

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