Pilocarpine application on treatment of xerostomia: state of the art

To assess applications with patented active ingredient pilocarpine and discuss their implications for further research in drug development was realized a research in some patent databases including WIPO, Espacenet, USPTO and INPI using key terms which correlates pilocarpine and xerostomia. As results was found thirteen different innovative patented formulations, mainly tablets with different content and drug delivery technologies, but also liquid and semi-solid formulations. The tablets are commercialized on the market by MGI Pharma Inc. and were approved by FDA in 1994. It is the only option commercially available for use in xerostomia. Other forms of application as bioadhesives, chewing gum and gargling solutions are not available yet although have been patented. There were twelve companies as patent assignees what shows how much the pilocarpine has been exploited. In this way is possible to conclude that innovative technology has been applied on development of pilocarpine pharmaceutical products although innovative marketed alternatives to treatment of xerostomia with this promising drug are still missing.