Stable pharmaceutical beads conaining medicament incorporated in synthetic copolymerby bead polymerization

Claim 1

PHARMACEUTICAL ORAL, CONTROLLED-SIZE, BEAD DOSAGEFORM PREPARATION, 0.1 TO 3.0 MM. IN DIAMETER, WHICH CONTAIN A PREDETERMINED DOSAGE OF ACTIVE MEDICAMENT, STABILIZED BY BEING INCORPORATED BY BEAD POLYMERIZATION IN PHYSIOLOGICALLY ACCEPTABLE SYNTHETIC COPOLYMERS WHICH ARE ALKALI-SOLUBLE OR AT LEAST SWOLLEN BY THE GASTRO-INTESTINAL JUICES, SAID COPOYMERS BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF COPOLYMERS OF METHACRYLIC ACID AND METHYLMETHACRYLATE, ACRYLIC ACID AND ACRYLIC ACID METHYL ESTER, VINYL ACETATE AND CROTONIC ACID, STYRENE AND ACRYLIC ACID, AND/OR MALEIC ANHYDRIDE, VINYL METHYL ETHER AND MALEIC ACID ANHYDRIDE AND/OR FUMARIC ACID AND/OR ITACONIC ACID, WHEREIN CONTROL OF THE SIZE OF THE BEADS CONTROLS THE RELEASE OF THE ACTIVE MEDICAMENT IN RESPECT OF BOTH AMOUNT AND TIME AND WHEREIN THE RATIO OF ACTIVE MEDICAMENT TO SYNTHETIC COPOLYMER IS CORRELATED TO THE DOSAE OF ACTIVE MEDICAMENT, THE DESIRED RATE OF RELEASE AND REGULATION OF THE SWELLING CAPACITY AND ALKALI SOLUBILITY OF THE SYNTHETIC COPOLYMER BY CHANGING THE PROPORTION OF FREE ACID PRESENT IN THE COPOLYMER.