PDF, Patent Landscape Report on Atazanavir - WIPO

FORMULATIONSEven before a drug is approved, it is crucial to be able to make it in a form a) that is usablein clinical trials, b) that has reasonable bioavailability, i.e. can be given in feasible dosesand by practical routes, and c) that has an appropriate half-life in the body. Early indevelopment, in 1998, Bristol-Myers Squibb developed a method to make a better form ofAtazanavir, a sulfated version of the drug that was more stable and had higherbioavailability than the form used in early preclinical testing (Figure 32). After approval, it isalso typical to find other efforts to improve these qualities.Figure 32 Formulation Development37