Resilient transdermal drug-delivery device and compositions and devices employing fatty acid esters/ethers or alkanediols as percutaneous absorption enhancers

Claim 1

A transdermal drug-delivery device in the form of a solid state laminated composite adapted to be adhered to a predetermined area of unbroken skin and having mechanical properties that enable it to expand and contract in concert with the normal expansion and contraction of said area of skin comprising : (a) at least two spaced structural laminas (12, 14, 16) of a resilient polymer, one of which (12) forms the upper face surface of the composite, said laminas providing the composite with said mechanical properties; (b) at least one lamina (13, 15) of a viscoelastic hydrophobic polymer optionally in which (i) a drug and/­or (ii) an agent that enhances the solubility of the drug in the viscoelastic hydrophobic polymer and/or is a percutaneous absorption enhancer that increases the permeability of the skin to the drug is dispersed and at least partly dissolved, the viscoelastic hydrophobic polymer lamina (13, 15) being positioned between the structural laminas (12, 14, 16) with the structural lami­na(s) (14, 16) underlying the viscoelastic hydrophobic polymer lamina(s) (13, 15) providing no rate-controlling barrier to diffusion of drug and/or agent from the visco­elastic hydrophobic polymer lamina(s) to the skin; and (c) a lamina (17) of a pharmaceutically acceptable pressure-sensitive adhesive optionally in which (i) said drug and/or (ii) said agent is dispersed and at least partly dissolved, one face of the pressure-sensitive ad­hesive lamina (17) defining the basal surface of the composite and contacting and adhering to the area of un­broken skin when the device is in use, said pressure-­sensitive adhesive lamina (17) providing no rate-control­ling barrier to duffision of the drug and/or agent from device to the skin, with the proviso that at least one of said viscoelastic hydrophobic polymer lamina(s) (13,15) and said pressure-sensitive adhesive lamina (17) contains the drug.

Claim 11

The device of any of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 wherein the drug is contained in the lamina (17) of pharmaceutically acceptable pressure-­sensitive adhesive and said agent is contained in the lamina (17) of pharmaceutically acceptable pressure-­sensitive adhesive and at least one of the lamina(s) (13, 15) of viscoelastic hydrophobic polymer.