A method of treating a warm-blood
vertebrate. The verebrate may be a
human being or a lower animal. The treatment method involves administering to the
vertebrate in need of such treatment a pharmaceutically effective amount of a salt of a
halide-free
glucosamine base and a therapeutic
drug containing at least one acid functionality, e.g., a carbonyl
moiety, a carboxyl
moiety, a
sulfoxide moiety, etc. Preferably, the salt is stabilized by
coating it with at least one pharmaceutically acceptable
polymer comprising a water-soluble, water-immiscible and / or water-swellable homopolymer and / or
copolymer. Suitable polymers include carboxypolymethylene homopolymers and copolymers;
polyethylene glycol homopolymers and copolymers, povidone homopolymers and copolymers;
polyacrylic acid homopolymers and copolymers;
polyacrylamide homopolymers and copolymers; polysaccharides; and mixtures of two or more of the foregoing polymers. The
resultant coated
halide-free
glucosamine-therapeutic
drug salt composition will be stable upon
exposure to ambient temperature and / or the
atmosphere. Suitable therapeutic drugs containing at least one acid functionality may be found in one or more of the following classes of therapeutic drugs. α- and β-
Adrenergic Agonists;
Narcotic and Non-
Narcotic Analgesics; Anorexics; Antiallergics; Antianginals; Antiarrhythmics; Antiasthmatics;
Antibiotics; Anti-coagulants; Anticonvulsants; Antidepressants; Antidiabetics; Antihistaminics; Anti-hypertensives;
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatories; Antimigraines; Antineoplastics; Antiparkinsonians; Antipsychotics; Antipyretics; Antispasmodics; Antithrombotics; Anti-ulceratives; Anxiolytics; Decongestants; Diuretics; Hepatoprotectants; Sedatives; and Vasodilators.