Topical composition containing steroid in two forms released independently from polymeric carrier

Claim 1

A topically applied composition for treating inflammation of a warm-blooded animal, wherein the composition comprises: a pair of micronized steroids consisting essentially of two topically acceptable different physical and chemical therapeutic forms of the same steroid, the pair selected from the group consisting of betamethasone, betamethasone acetate, betamethasone benzoate, betamethasone diproprionate, betamethasone valerate and betamethasone disodium diphosphate, and a bioerodible polymeric polyorthoester carrier containing from 50 nanograms to 1 gram of each therapeutic form of the micronized steroid pair, with both forms present in the bioerodible polyorthoester carrier without any interactions, and wherein, when the composition is administered topically, the composition administers the steroids by the polyorthoester bioeroding and administering the two different forms as a pair, for increasing the concentration of each steroid form topically, with the concentration of each steroid form topically applied being independent of the amount of the different steroid form topically applied for increasing the concentration of each steroid form available for passing into the tissues and steroid receptors of a warm-blooded animal in a therapeutically effective amount for treating inflammation over a prolonged period of time of 4 to 600 hours.