Pharmaceutical comprising drug and polymer

Claim 1

A drug delivery device for the administration of drug to a biological drug receptive environment, wherein the device comprises: (I) a shaped matrix sized, structured and adapted for administering drug to the environment and formed of a drug release rate controlling pharmaceutically acceptable material, which material comprises a polymer of the formula: ##STR9## wherein R is a member selected from the group consisting of divalent, trivalent, and tetravalent radicals consisting of alkylene of 1 to 10 carbons; alkenylene of 2 to 10 carbons; cycloalkylene of 3 to 7 carbons; cycloalkylene 3 to 7 carbons substituted with an alkyl of 1 to 7 carbons, an alkenyl of 2 to 7 carbons, an alkoxy of 1 to 7 carbons, alkylene of 1 to 10 carbons, and alkylene of 2 to 10 carbons; cycloalkenylene of 4 to 7 carbons, cycloalkylene of 4 to 7 carbons substituted with an alkyl of 1 to 7 carbons, alkenyl of 2 to 7 carbons, alkoxy of 1 to 7 carbons, alkylene of 1 to 10 carbons and alkenylene of 2 to 10 carbons; arylene of 6 to 16 carbons; arylene of 6 to 16 carbons substituted with an alkyl of 1 to 7 carbons, alkenyl of 2 to 7 carbons, alkoxy of 1 to 7 carbons, alkylene of 1 to 10 carbons and alkenylene of 2 to 10 carbons; and Het is a heterocyclic five to eight membered ring comprising: (1) a carbon atom bivalently bonded to the oxygen atoms of the polymer; (2) a hetero ring atom adjacent to the carbon atom of the polymer chain, said hetero atom selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen; and (3) with the remainder of the ring independently selected from (a) and (b) wherein (a) is an alkylene bridge of 2 to 5 carbons substituted with a ring atom selected from the group consisting of nitrogen and sulfur; and (b) is an alkylene bridge of 3 to 6 carbons when said hetero atom adjacent to the carbon atom of the polymer chain is a hetero ring atom selected from the group consisting of nitrogen and sulfur; and n is greater than 10; (II) a drug selected from the group consisting of locally and systemically acting physiologically and pharmaceutically acceptable drug present in the matrix; and (III) wherein the device when in operation administers a therapeutically effective amount of drug to the environment over a period of time.