Prednisone solution USP (5mg/5mL), is the most commonly prescribed formulation of prednisone to pediatric and adult patients. The rationale for this study is that palatability is the most important determinant of pediatric patient compliance, and therefore, it is critical that the Orbis formulation be perceived as significantly more palatable compared to today's commercially available products in order to warrant further development of the TP.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
24
Children's Mercy Hospital
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Palatability of a new oral formulation of prednisone
We will create optimized shelf-stable prednisone microcapsules designed for complete taste-masking followed by immediate release in the stomach. Release characteristics of the TP will be compared to a pharmaceutical grade formulation of prednisone. Milestone: Microencapsulated prednisone that: (i) shows less than 10% coefficient of variance (CV) in the in vitro release profile between fresh and 4-week, 40°C stability-exposed samples while maintaining (ii) maximum of 5% total drug release during the initial 2 minutes and (iii) \>90% release within 30 minutes. N.B. This Specific Aim will be accomplished in the laboratories of Orbis Biosciences, Inc. Upon meeting all milestones associated with this SA, Orbis Biosciences will produce, in accordance with Good Laboratory and Manufacturing Principles, a single batch of TP suitable for use in accomplish SA2.
Time frame: Immediately
Evaluation of the TP for the organoleptic properties of taste, mouth-feel and aroma in healthy adults compared to the reference product (RP).
We will use a randomized cross-over design and a 9-Point Hedonic bipolar scale of scoring to compare the product appearance, smell, taste, mouth feel and after taste for three treatment groups: (i) Orbis's prednisone-loaded microcapsules (TP), developed in SA1, (ii) TP placebo microcapsules (i.e., delivery system not containing any active pharmaceutical ingredient or API), and (iii) the RP (Prednisone oral liquid, USP). We will suspend the microcapsules in a non-flavored suspension medium immediately before administration to healthy adults. The hypothesis associated with this SA is that microencapsulated prednisone (TP) will demonstrate significant improvement in organoleptic properties as compared to the RP.
Time frame: Immediately
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