A preliminary pharmacokinetic study of liposomal leuprolide dry powder inhaler: a technical note

Abstract

The developed liposomal DPI of LEU (LLEUn-DPI) demonstrated approximately 50% bioavailability compared with SC route. The studies justify the role of the pulmonary route as a promising alternative to the presently available SC route. The components of liposomal vesicles may be suitably changed to achieve higher bioavailability. Pulmonary delivery of LEU is expected to help in improving patient compliance, self-administration and avoiding the complications related to injection procedure. The developed LEU-DPI may be employed for both male and female contraception and treatment of prostate cancer in men and early puberty in children. In women it may be used for ovarian, endometrial, pancreas, and breast cancer; endometriosis; Uterine Leiomyoma; and anemia due to uterine fibroid tumors. However, the role of LEU-DPI in clinical practice can only be justified only after in vivo studies on 2 species of animals followed by extensive clinical trials.