Sustained release pharmaceutical preparations

Claim 1

THE PROCESS FOR MAKING SUSTAINED PERIOD MINUTE INCREMENTAL DOSAGE PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS WHICH COMPRISES INTIMATELY MIXING A POWDERED DRUG AND AN ENTRIC WATER INSOLUBLE EXCIPIENT TO PRODUCE A PASTY MASS, DRYING THE MASS SLOWLY WITHOUT AGITATION IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO PRODUCE A ROUGH GRANULAR MATERIAL, BREAKING UP THE ROUGH GRANULAR MATERIAL BY LIGHT CRUSHING, WHEREBY TO REDUCE IT TO GRANULAR PARTICLES, SAID MIXING, DRYING AND CRUSHING OPERATIONS CONSTITUTING ONE CYCLE, AND REMIXING THE GRANULAR PARTICLES WITH AN ADDITIONAL QUANTITY OF THE EXCIPIENT TO PRODUCE A PASTY MASS, REDRYING SUCH PASTY MASS SLOWLY AND WITHOUT AGITATION IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO PRODUCE A GRANULAR MATERIAL, AGAIN BREAKING UP THE ROUGH GRANULAR MATERIAL BY LIGHT CRUSHING, WHEREBY TO REDUCE IT AGAIN TO GRANULAR PARTICLES, SAID SECOND MIXING, DRYING AND CRUSHING OPERATIONS CONSTITUTING A SECOND CYCLE, SAID PROCESS CONSISTING OF NOT LESS THAN THREE NOR MORE THAN FIFTEEN MIXING, CRUSHING AND DRYING CYCLES REPEATED IN SUCCESSIVE ORDER WHEREBY TO PRODUCE A PHARMACEUTICAL MATERIAL CONSISTING OF GRANULES HAVING SLOW BUT CONTINUOUS AND ATTENUATED SOLUBILITY IN THE GASTRO-INTESTINAL TRACT, LIGHTLY CRUSHING SAID FINISHED GRANULES TO FORM A GRANULAR POWDER, FORMING A PLURALITY OF INERT SEED-LIKE CORES, PLACING SAID CORES IN A COATING PAN, ROTATING THE COATING PAN, INTRODUCING THEREINTO A WATER INSOLUBLE EXCIPIENT, DUSTING IN SAID GRANULAR POWDER, AND CONTINUING THE ADDITON OF WATER INSOLUBLE EXCIPIENT AND GRANULAR POWDER UNTIL THE DESIRED DOSAGE HAS BEEN INCORPORATED IN THE BATCH.