a suitable liquid composition for use in a spray device for intranasal administration includes a solvent in which the desired concentration of lorazepam can be attained to provide the desired unit - dose in a total sprayed liquid volume that can be delivered by the device and accommodated and absorbed by the subject &# 39 ; s nasal mucosa . lorazepam is insoluble in water . a commercially available injectable composition approved by the fda and sold by wyeth laboratories under the brand name ativan ®, includes 2 mg of lorazepam in 0 . 18 ml of polyethylene glycol 400 in propylene glycol with 2 . 0 % benzyl alcohol as a preservative . this composition was not acceptable for intranasal spray administration because benzyl alcohol is irritating to the mucosa . a suitable composition for use in the invention was prepared as follows . lorazepam was formulated in a liquid composition for use in the practice of the invention . since lorazepam is insoluble in water , the lorazepam was dissolved in polyethylene glycol having an average molecular weight of about 400 (“ peg400 ”), and the solution diluted with propylene glycol . in order to provide for shelf - life stability over a period of up to six - months under typical conditions , a preservative can be added . in a preferred embodiment , an artificial sweeter is also dissolved in the composition . the final composition was as follows : the lorazepam is preferably prepared in the form of a single or unit - dose nasal spray for intranasal administration by a precision dosage manually - activated pump . each 1 ml of nasal spray solution is preferably formulated to contain 10 mg lorazepam . in a preferred delivery system , each actuation of the nasal spray pump delivers 0 . 1 ml of this 10 mg / ml hm solution constituting a 1 mg dose . a smaller dose of the lorazepam hcl can be administered to children . as will be understood by those familiar with the art , dosage forms at lower concentrations of lorazepam can be prepared for administration based upon the patient &# 39 ; s lower body weight , as in the case of children or adults of substantially smaller size . the nasal spray solution has a ph in the range of from about 3 to about 7 , with a ph of about 5 being preferred . the lorazepam composition was placed in containers adapted for use with modified pfeiffer dispensers identified by model / part numbers as 52020 / bsk 7482 . the intranasal applicators of the prior art are modified by increasing the size of the discharge orifice in nose piece to about 0 . 07 mm from about 0 . 05 mm in diameter ( which is typical for an aqueous solution ), i . e ., a 40 % increase in diameter . this increase is necessary to accommodate the higher viscosity of the composition of the invention . the swirl chamber of the prior art precision spray dispenser can be retained . the applicator components are sterilized by methods well known in the art . as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art , other changes in the design and / or construction of the spray dispenser can be made to accommodate and discharge the more viscous composition of the invention . the lorazepam nasal spray applicators are preferably stored at temperatures in the range of 2 °- 8 ° c . ( 36 °- 48 ° f .) and are protected from light to provide for maximum shelf life . if the applicator body is not transparent , visual inspection of the drug product for signs of deterioration is not possible and attention to the expiration date and storage conditions is important . the optional inclusion of a preservative will serve to extend the shelf life , as will storage under refrigeration . in the last case , the products and dispenser should be brought to room temperature before administration . any expired product is discarded in the appropriate manner . a formulation of lorazepam for intranasal administration was prepared as described above under aseptic conditions in the form of a liquid composition at a concentration of 1 . 0 mg of lorazepam in 0 . 1 ml . the composition was used to fill the required number of single - dose , metered sprayers commercially produced and sold by pfeiffer of america , inc ., each of which sprayers first having been modified as described above . the filling of the containers and their assembly is completed under aseptic conditions since the lorazepam composition cannot withstand the heat of sterilization . each subject received a single spray in each nostril for a total of 2 . 0 mg . a 2 . 0 mg dose is preferred as being within common , safe and labeled doses prescribed . commercially available lorazepam was purchased for im and iv administration . the product was ativan ® injection for parental administration sold by wyeth laboratories , ( a wyeth - ayerst company .) each ml of ativan ® injection is formulated with 2 mg of lorazepam in 0 . 18 ml peg400 in propylene glycol with 2 . 0 % benzyl alcohol as a preservative . the iv doses were diluted according to the label instructions by adding one ml of water . each of the applicators was weighed prior to use and after use . qualified medical personnel took the respective applicators to subjects in a clinical setting ; one dose was administered up each nostril , after which the applicator was recovered for weighing . each subject used two pfeiffer unit dose spray devices , both of which were discarded following the post - use weighing . the iv doses were administered through antecubital veins on the arm opposite to the arm from which samples were taken , injecting the solution over about five minutes . syringes were weighed before and after administration . further details of the protocol , and the results of these studies of the methods and system of the invention and the comparative prior art method follow . a statistical comparison of dose 1 and dose 2 for the pfeiffer unit dose delivery system was done using a paired t - test . analysis of the data for normally functioning devices indicated that the difference between the mean sprays of the two applications using the pfeiffer device was not statistically significant . ( this analysis excluded data from one of the devices that malfunctioned .) a clinical study was undertaken for the purposes of ( 1 ) to assessing the absolute bioavailability of lorazepam by comparing the pharmacokinetics of 2 . 0 mg lorazepam administered by intranasal ( in ) and intravenous ( iv ) routes ; and ( 2 ) to compare pharmacokinetic parameters via in administration to intramuscular ( im ) and intravenous administration . this was undertaken as a single - dose , open - label , three - way crossover , randomized , pilot bioavailability study of lorazepam comparing intranasal administration in healthy human volunteers . twelve healthy non - smoking subjects ( six male and six female ) between the ages of 18 and 35 years were initially selected for this inpatient study . one subject left the study and one subject received delayed doses . study participants were selected based on inclusion / exclusion criteria , history and physical exam , laboratory tests , and other customary procedures . the subjects were within ± 20 % of ideal body weight and no history of allergies , acute or chronic nasal symptoms , significant nasal surgery or abnormalities were reported . eleven of the twelve subjects completed the study according to the protocol . each of the subjects received 3 doses of 2 mg of lorazepam on three separate occasions . no clinically significant protocol violations occurred during this study . the inclusion criteria mentioned abstinence from prescription and non - prescription drugs prior to and during the study , and any medications taken in the 14 days before the study and during the study were noted . subjects abstained from alcoholic and caffeine - containing beverages for 48 hours before the dosing period and during the study . lorazepam for intranasal administration was supplied by the university of kentucky college of pharmacy . lorazepam for intravenous administration (“ iv ”) was supplied as ativan ® 1 mg / ml for subjects 1 , 3 , 8 , and 9 on the first day and for subjects 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 on the second study day . lorazepam for intramuscular administration (“ im ”) was supplied as ativan ® 2 mg / ml for subjects 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 on first study day and for subjects 1 , 3 , 8 and 9 on the second study day . free base content was 1 . 77 mg or 88 . 7 % of stated lorazepam strength ( from molecular weights : 321 . 8 − 36 . 46 = 285 . 34 , 285 . 34 / 321 . 8 = 88 . 7 %) to summarize , the dosages for each of the three routes of administration were as follows : drug administration occurred at approximately 0800 hours following overnight fasting . subjects were allowed up to 360 ml of juice or soft drink one hour before each dose , but were not allowed to eat for one hour after their dose . weight , blood pressure , and pulse were measured prior to dosing and at the end of the study . blood pressure and pulse rate were measured with the subjects seated in an upright position before any corresponding blood sample was collected . blood pressure and pulse rate were measured and recorded on the same arm throughout the study at 0 ( pre - dose ) and 30 minutes , 1 , 2 , 4 , 8 , and 16 hours . the three treatments were separated by one - week washout period . the subject (# 02 ) whose doses were delayed received the final dose within one month of the first dose , was dosed with the other subjects during their first and third periods and received the final treatment two weeks later . she was dosed in the treatment order to which she was randomized . spontaneously reported adverse events were recorded by the subjects throughout the study ; adverse events were also elicited by nondirected interviews . blood samples for the three treatments were collected from each subject according to the following schedule : 0 ( pre - dose ), 5 , 15 , 30 and 45 minutes , and 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 , 12 , 18 , 24 and 36 hours following lorazepam administration . the beginning of the iv administration was considered time zero . after collection , the blood was centrifuged in a refrigerated centrifuge at 4 ° c . to separate the plasma and the cells , and the plasma was transferred to polypropylene tubes . the plasma was stored at approximately − 70 ° c . at the study site until shipped to an independent analytical service . the plasma was maintained frozen during shipping and upon arrival at the remote analytical facility , the samples were stored at approximately − 20 ° c . until analyzed . the sample analysis using an lc / ms / ms assay was performed by an independent service in accordance with established protocols . the analytic range for the lorazepam method was 0 . 10 ng to 25 . 00 ng / ml using 1 . 0 ml of human plasma . concentrations less than 1 . 10 ng / ml were reported as below quantitation limit ( bql ). samples with concentrations greater than 25 ng / ml were reanalyzed using a dilution so that the assayed concentration was within the range of 0 . 10 ng to 25 . 00 ng / ml . plasma concentration versus time date for lorazepam were analyzed using noncompartmental pharmacokinetic methods . pharmacokinetic parameters were determined using standard noncompartmental methods with log - linear least square regression analysis to determine the elimination rate constants ( winnonlin , pharsight corp ., palo alto , calif .). the areas under the concentration versus time curves from time zero to infinity ( auc 0 -∞ ) were calculated by a combination of the linear and logarithmic trapezoidal rules , with extrapolation to infinity by dividing the last measurable serum concentration by the elimination rate constant ( λ z .) ( proost , 1985 ). values for the maximum concentration ( c max ) and time to c max ( t max ) were determined by visual inspection of concentration versus time data for each subject . the elimination half - life was determined from 0 . 693 / λ z . the absolute bioavailability ( f ) for the in and im dosage forms , assuming equal 2 mg doses , was determined by f = auc in , 0 -∞ / auc iv , 0 -∞ for the in dose and f = auc im , 0 -∞ / auc iv , 0 -∞ for the im dose . clearance ( cl for iv and cl / f for in and im doses ) was determined by dividing the dose by auc 0 -∞ . volume of distribution at steady state and for elimination ( v ss and v z ) were determined by moment curves ( gibaldi and perrier , 1982 ). table 1 is a summary of pharmacokinetic data for the three doses . absorption of lorazepam following in administration was rapid as indicated by the fact that concentrations were detected in all subjects within five minutes after the in administration . the median t max values were 30 minutes and three hours for the in and im doses , respectively . on average , 0 . 1091 g ( cv 5 . 6 %, n = 21 ) was dispensed from the individual spray pumps as determined by the difference in the pre - and post - weights . ( this data excludes one malfuctioning device of the 22 devices used in this study .) the mean plasma concentration versus time curve profiles for the iv , im and in doses are shown in fig1 . plasma concentrations were still detectable 36 hours after administration . fig1 and 2 are plots of the mean ( n = 11 ) plasma lorazepam concentration versus time graphs following three treatments : ( a ) 2 . 0 mg lorazepam by five minutes iv infusion , ( b ) 2 . 0 mg lorazepam in dose and ( c ) 2 . 0 mg lorazepam im dose . fig1 shows the results over the period following administration ; fig2 is the same data for the 36 hours following administration . results of the clinical measurement of vital signs and body weight exams were recorded and nasal exams were performed . a review of this data failed to reveal any clinically significant safety concerns . there were no serious adverse events and no subjects were discontinued due to adverse effects . subjects commented that they experienced a mild bad taste immediately after the in dose . any safety concerns associated with in are similar to those associated with iv administration . detailed nasal examination demonstrated no pathology of the naso - pharynx after single administration of the lorazepam formulations . the plasma lorazepam concentrations and actual collection times for each of the 11 subjects was tabulated and plasma concentration - time curves for each of the 11 subjects were prepared . the mean concentration - time curves of fig1 and 2 are representative for most subjects ( mean data tabulation ). fig1 is a plot of the mean ( n = 11 ) lorazepam concentration versus time graphs following iv , im and in doses of 2 mg lorazepam during the 4 hours after dose ; fig2 is the same data plotted for 36 hours after the dose . noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analysis was used to evaluate the plasma concentration versus time curves of lorazepam following single 2 . 0 mg doses of lorazepam by intravenous ( iv ), intramuscular ( im ), and intranasal ( in ) routes . individual plasma lorazepam concentration versus time profiles for all subjects were recorded ; number of time points used to estimate the elimination rate constant were also recorded ; and a complete listing of individual and mean pharmacokinetic parameters for all 11 subjects was recorded . table 1 is a summary of the descriptive statistics for lorazepam pharmacokinetic parameters . rapid absorption of lorazepam was observed after the iv and in doses . the t max values were approximately 9 and 18 minutes , on average , for the im and in doses , respectively . the mean t max for the iv infusion was not the first blood sample after the end of the infusion for two reasons . the peak concentration after the iv dose in one subject was not at the first blood sample after the end of the iv infusion , but at the next time point . in the case of subject 4 , acquiring the blood sample immediately following the iv infusion was delayed resulting in the mean t max being affected . as expected , the lorazepam c max and aucs were significantly higher after im and iv administration compared to in administration . mean plasma half - lives and clearance after correcting for bioavailability , were similar for all three treatments . the arithmetic mean value of absolute bioavailability of lorazepam ( 11 subjects ) for the in formulation is 78 %. the plasma levels were comparable to those of the im dose . from the above , it will be understood that a novel composition and method is provided for the safe and controlled intra - nasal administration of precise doses of lorazepam in accordance with a medically prescribed regimen .
a therapeutic composition of lorazepam and its pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives are provided for intranasal administration of at least one predetermined volumetric unit dose in the form of a spray by means that delivers one or more therapeutically prescribed unit doses that are highly accurate as to the volume discharged and which leave no significant quantity of the composition in the delivery means .