Title of Invention

AN APORPHINE DERIVATIVE HAVING THE GENERAL FORMULA (I) AND PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION THEREOF

Abstract 1. An aporphine derivative having the general formula (I) wherein one of R1 and R2 is hydrogen or acetyl and the other one is selected from the group consisting of (C3-C2o)alkanoyl; halo(C3-C2o) alkanoyl; (C3-C20) alkenoyl; halo(C4-C7)cycloalkanoyl; (C3-C6)-cycloalkyl(C2-Ci6)alkanoyl; aroyl which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesuiphonyloxy, (C1-C3)alkyl and (C1-C3)alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; aryl (C2- Ci6)alkanoyl which is unsubstituted or substituted in the aryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, (C1-C3)alkyl and (C1-C3) alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and heteroarylalkanoyl having one to three heteroatoms selected from O, S and N in the heteroaryl moiety and 2 to 10 carbon atoms in the alkanoyl moiety and which is unsubstituted or substituted in the heteroaryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (C1-C3)alkyl, and (C1-C3)alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and R3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; (C1-C4)- alkyl, which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; cyclopropyl and cyclopropylmethyl, and the physiologically acceptable salts thereof
Full Text FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
[39 OF 1970]
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION [See Section 10; Rule 13]
"AN APORPHINE DERIVATIVE HAVING THE GENERAL FORMULA (I) AND PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION THEREOF"
AXON .BIOCHEMICALS B.V., of Elsschotlaan 32, Groningen 9721, WN, Netherlands,
The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:-
GRANTED
21-2-2007




The present invention relates to an aporphine derivative having the gc formula (I) and process for the preparation thereof.
This invention relates to new apo:rphine esters, a process for their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions containing them and their use in therapy. More particularly, the present invention relates to new aporphine 10- and 11-mono-esters and 10,11-asymmetric di-estera, their preparation and use and pharmaceutical compositions containing them.
Background art
Parkinson's disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative dis¬order caused by a loss of the eel] bodies of dopaminergic (DA-ergic) neurons from the substantia nigra and degeneration of nerve terminals in the striatum resulting in low levels of DA in the substantia nigra and corpus striatum. Parkinson's disease is characterized by chronic, progressive motor dys¬function and its main symptoms are tremor at rest, muscle rigidity and a decrease in the frequency of voluntary move¬ments (hypokinesia) with difficulty in stopping, starting and turning when walking. A persistent tremor is superimposed on hypertonicity of opposing muscle groups and initiation of movements becomes increasingly difficult and slow. In ad¬vanced stages, patients' movements become virtually "frozen", and patients are unable to care for themselves. Studies have shown that the symptoms of Parkinson's disease appear when the striatal DA content is reduced to 20-40 % of normal.
As Parkinson's disease is associated with a loss of DA from the striatum, it is commonly treated with drugs which replace DA, the most commonly used of these being levodopa. Levodopa is converted by dopa decarboxylase into DA in the brain and it is this DA which exerts a therapeutic effect. However, although levodopa is well absorbed from the small intestine, much of it is inactivated by monoamine oxidase in the wall of the intestine. Also, the plasma half-life of levodopa is short

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
and about 95 % of the drug is converted to DA in pripheral tissues, where dopa decarboxylase is widespread, with the result that less than 1 % enters the brain. Consequently le-vodopa has to be administered in large and frequent doses. 5 In addition, the production of DA in peripheral tissues gives rise to unwanted side-effects.
Accordingly, levodopa is normally given in combination with other drugs to enhance the effects of levodopa in the brain
10 and minimize its peripheral effects. In particular, levodopa is usually given in combination with a peripheral dopa-decarboxylase inhibitor, which cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, such as carbidopa, which inhibits the breakdown of levodopa to DA outside the brain, thereby reducing peripheral
15 unwanted effects. The inhibitor also ensures that a rela¬tively large amount of an oral dose of levodopa reaches the brain and thus enables the dose of levodopa to be reduced which also reduces peripheral side-effects. In addition, a peripheral DA antagonist, which does not penetrate the blood-
20 brain barrier, such as domperidone, may also be administered to reduce the nausea and vomiting side-effects of levodopa.
In addition to the side-effects mentioned above, further un¬desirable effects are associated with the prolonged use of
25 levodopa. In particular, many patients develop involuntary choreiform movements, which are the result of excessive acti¬vation of DA receptors. These movements usually affect the face and limbs and can become very severe. Such movements disappear if the dose of levodopa is reduced but this causes
30 rigidity to return. Moreover, the margin between the benefi¬cial and the unwanted effect appears to become progressively narrower as the period of levodopa treatment increases. The traditional method of combating this effect is to increase the frequency of administration of levodopa whilst keeping
35 the overall dose steady. This approach reduces end-of-dose deterioration and diminishes the likelihood of the patient developing the dyskinesias that occur with high peak doses.

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
A further complication of long-term levodopa treatment is the development, of rapid fluctuations in clinical state where the patrent .switches suddenly between mobility and immobility for periods ranging'from a few minutes to a few hours. This phe-5 nomenon is, known as the "on-off effect", the "on" state being the'preferred'state during which nearly normal motor func-tioning can be attained ,and the "off" state being character¬ized by dystonic postures during periods of decreased mobil¬ity. Indeed, this effect can produce such an abrupt loss of
10 mobility that the patient may suddenly stop while walking or be unable to rise from a chair in which he had sat down nor¬mally a few moments earlier. This effect is commonly unaf¬fected by manipulation of the dose of levodopa and may re¬quire treatment with alternative drugs. In addition to the
15 above long-term side-effects of levodopa treatment, it has been found that the effectiveness of levodopa gradually de¬clines with time until it is no longer effective. Also, an increased incidence of malignant melanoma has been observed in patients undergoing treatment with levodopa and it has
20 therefore been suggested that treatment with levodopa may be linked with the development of malignant melanoma. Accord¬ingly, the use of levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease is far from ideal.
25 An alternative approach to the treatment of Parkinson's dis¬ease is the use of drugs that mimic the action of DA. Such drugs are collectively known as DA agonists because they di¬rectly stimulate DA receptors within the DA-deficient nigro-striatal pathway. Unlike levodopa, DA agonists do not need to
30 be converted !in the brain to active compounds. Also, DA ago¬nists are effective in patients in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease when levodopa is no longer effective be¬cause they act directly on the DA receptors and are therefore unaffected by the lack of DA-producing nerve cells in such
35 patients. However, the action of such DA agonists on the DA receptors also causes unwanted DA-ergic effects, such as nau¬sea, vomiting and extrapyramidal effects, which can be de¬bilitating and some DA agonists, such as apomorphine, are

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
associated with further undesirable side-effects, especially when high doses are used, such as sedation, respiratory de¬pression, hypotension, bradycardia, sweating and yawning. The severity and nature of such side-effects can be affected by 5 the mode of administration of the drug. For instance, studies involving apomorphine have investigated a variety of routes for administration of this drug. However, oral administration of apomorphine tablets has required high doses to achieve the necessary therapeutic effect, because apomorphine adminis-
10 tered by this route undergoes extensive presystemic metabo¬lism in the small intestine and/or liver (the first pass ef¬fect) . Also, long-term studies involving such oral forms were stopped after 7-10 days due to unexplained rises in blood urea nitrogen. Sub-lingual administration of apomorphine tab-
15 lets caused severe stomatitis on prolonged use with buccal mucosal ulceration in half the patients treated. Intranasal administration produced transient nasal blockage, burning sensation and swollen nose and lips and, in some of the pa¬tients tested, had to be withdrawn because of what was con-
20 sidered to be chemical inflammation of the nasal mucosa.1
Accordingly, the only satisfactory way of administering apo¬morphine, which avoids high first pass metabolism, has been found to be subcutaneous administration and, thus, the only
25 commercially available formulation of apomorphine is a liquid for subcutaneous injection or subcutaneous infusion. Even so, subcutaneous administration does not avoid the normal DA ago¬nist side-effects, such as nausea and vomiting and subcutane¬ous administration, whether by injection or infusion, is not
30 easy to accomplish, particularly by patients whose motor
functions are already impaired, and therefore requires train¬ing of patients and caretakers. Also, the injection site must be changed every 12 hours to minimize risks of skin discol¬oration and nodules forming. In view of these problems, it is
35 not surprising that the use of DA agonists, such as apomor¬phine, in the treatment of Parkinson's disease has been largely confined to the treatment of "off" periods caused by

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
levodopa therapy despite the obvious clinical benefits of such drugs over levodopa.
It is apparent from the above that it would be highly desir-5 able from a clinical point of view to find a way of adminis¬tering DA agonists, such as apomorphine, which is easy for the patient to accomplish, therefore, reducing the need for supervision of administration and which bypasses first pass metabolism in the liver. In addition, such a formulation of 10 apomorphine or of apomorphine prodrugs should have a more
beneficial pharmacokinetic profile than apomorphine itself.2"5
Aporphine pro-drugs have been described and tested in animal models in the past.6'21 Such pro-drugs have been mostly ester
15 .pro-drugs and di-symmetric, i.e. 10,11-di-esters. Thus, for instance, the following di-esters of aporphines have been described: di-acetyl, di-propionyl, dibutyryl, di-iso-butyryl, di-pivaloyl, di-pentanoyl, di-hexanoyl, di-hexadecanoyl, di-phenylacetyl, di-methoxyacetyl, di-trifluoroacetyl and di-
20 heptafluorobutanoyl esters. Some reports of improved bio¬availability of such esters have been presented, but the overall result was disappointing. As an example, the di-pivaloyl ester pro-drug was much less active than the parent compound apomorphine itself. Due to the steric character of
25 the pivaloyl group, it may be speculated that the ester hy¬drolysis of such a bulky group may be slower than for e.g. an acetyl group. 10,11-Di-acetyl-apomorphine is almost as potent as apomorphine itself.6
30 The possibility of preparing asymmetrical di-esters have been mentioned in US-A-4080456.l Such asymmetrical di-esters were, however, not disclosed by means of specific working examples illustrating their preparation and characteristics and it was conceived by the inventors of that publication
35 that such asymmetrical di-esters are difficult to make and that the pharmacology of such di-esters may be difficult to predict. Thus, all known di-acyl-aporphines actually prepared in practice are symmetrically substituted, i.e. the same sub-

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
stituent is found on both the 10- and the 11-position of the aporphine skeleton. This is, of course, limiting with respect to optimalLzation of the physicochemical properties that are likely to be of importance for both transdermal and subcuta-5 neous or intramuscular administration.
Disclosure of the invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide new apor-10 phine esters having an improved bioavailability as compared to previously know aporphine esters.
It is another object of the present invention to provide new aporphine esters which have properties suitable for formula-15 tions for the administration via the transdermal, subcutaneous and intramuscular Routes in order to achieve a longer duration of action against Parkinson's disease and other diseases.
It is still another object of the invention to provide trans-20 dermal and/or injectable formulations of aporphine pro-drugs by which the interval between the administrations can be in¬creased considerably.
According to the present invention it was surprisingly found 25 that aporphine mono- and asymmetrical di-esters have properties suitable for formulations for the administration via the trans¬dermal, subcutaneous and the intramuscular route in order to achieve a longer duration of action of the therapeutic effect.
30 Thus, according to said finding, in one aspect the present
invention provides a new aporphine derivative having the gen¬eral formula (I).

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658

wherein
one of R1 and R2 is hydrogen or acetyl and the other one is selected from the group consisting of (C3-C20) alkanoyl; halo-5 (C3-C20) alkanoyl; (C3-C20)alkenoyl; (C4-C7 )cycloalkanoyl; (C3-C6) -cycloalkyl (C2-Cl6) alkanoyl; aroyl which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (C1-C3)alkyl and (C1-C3) alkoxy, which latter may in turn be
10 substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; aryl (C2-C16) alkanoyl
which is unsubstituted or substituted in the aryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, (C1-C3) alkyl and (C1-C3) alkoxy, which latter may in turn be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and hetero-
15 arylalkanoyl having one to three heteroatoma selected from 0, S and N in the heteroaryl moiety and 2 to 10 carbon atoms in the alkanoyl moiety and which is unsubstituted or substituted in the heteroaryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethane-
20 sulphonyloxy, (C1-C3) alkyl, and (C1-C3) alkoxy, which latter may in turn be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and R3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; (C1-C4 -alkyl, which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 halo¬gen atoms,- cyclopropyl and cyclopropylmethyl, and
25 the physiologically acceptable salts thereof.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided an aporphine derivative of the general for¬mula I above, wherein one of RL and R3 is hydrogen or acetyl

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
and the other one is selected from the group consisting of (C3-C20) alkanoyl, (C4-C7) cycloalkanoyl, benzoyl which is unsub-stituted or substituted by a chlorine atom or 1 to 3 methoxy groups, phenylacetyl which may be substituted with a chlorine 5 atom, and heteroarylacetyl, and R3 is (C1-C3)alkyl or cyclo-propyl.
According to a more preferred embodiment of the present in¬vention there is provided an aporphine derivative of the
10 general formula I above, wherein one of R2 and R2 is hydrogen and the other one is selected from the group consisting of propanoyl, propenoyl, butanoyl, isobutanoyl, pivaloyl, de-canoyl, hexadecanoyl, cyclopropanoyl and benzoyl and R, is methyl or propyl,
15
According to another more preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided an aporphine derivative of the general formula I above, wherein one of R1, and R2 is acetyl and the other one is selected from the group consisting of
20 butanoyl, iaobutanoyl, cyclopropanoyl, cyclohexanoyl, piva¬loyl, decanoyland hexadecanoyl and R3 is methyl.
With regard to the definition of each symbol Rir R2 and R3 in the formula I the following meanings should apply: 25
The terms "halo" and "halogen" are used to designate fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine, preferably fluorine and chlorine.
The term " (C3-C20) alkanoyl" is used to designate the residue 30 of a saturated aliphatic carboxylic acid of 3 to 20 carbon
atoms, the carbon chain of which may be straight or branched. Examples of such alkanoyl groups are e.g. propanoyl, isopro-panoyl, butanoyl, 2-methylpropanoyl, pentanoyl, 3-methyl-butanoyl, pivaloyl, n-hexanoyl, n-heptanoyl, n-octanoyl, 35 n-nonanoyl, n-decanoyl, palmitoyl, stearoyl and eicosanoyl.

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
The term "halo- (C3-C20) alkanoyl" is used to designate a (C3-C30)alkanoyl group as defined above which is substituted by at least one halogen atom, preferably by 1 to 3 halogen atoms.
5 The term " (C3-C20) alkenoyl" is used to designate the residue of an aliphatic carboxylic acid of 3 to 2 0 carbon atoms, the carbon chain of which may be straight or branched and which contains 1 to 3 conjugated or non-conjugated double-bonds. Examples of such alkenoyl groups are, e.g. acryloyl, 10 methacryloyl, linoleoyl and linolenoyl.
The term " (C4-C7) cycloalkanoyl" is used to designate a group having the formula H2C O 15 I \ ||
| CHj- G - , wherein n is an integer 1 to 4. I /
20 Such groups include cyclopropanoyl, cyclobutanoyl, cyclopen-tanoyl and cyclohexanoyl.
The term " (C3-C6) cycloalkyl-(C2-C16) alkanoyl" is used to desig¬
nate a group having the formula
25 HjC O
I \ II
I CH2- (CJ^HJ^) - C - ,
I /
30 wherein n is defined as above, n is an integer 1 to 15. and the alkylene chain (CnlH2nl) may be straight or branched. Exam¬ples of such groups are, e.g. cyclopropyl acetyl, cyclohexyl acetyl, cyclopropyl hexanoyl and cyclopropyl palmitoyl.
35 The term "aroyl" is used to designate bensoyl, 1-naphthoyl
and 2-naphthoyl. Said aroyl group is unsubstituted or substi¬tuted by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consist¬ing of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (C1-C3)-

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
alkyl and (C1-C3) alkoxy, which alkyl and alkyxoy groups in turn may be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms. Examples of such substituted aroyl groups are m-methoxybenzoyl, p-trifluoromethoxybenzoyl, p-chlorobenzoyl, 3,4,5 -trimethoxy-5 benzoyl, p-cyanobenzoyl and 3-chloro-l-naphtuoyl.
The term " (C1-C3) alkyl" is used to designate methyl, ethyl, propyl and isopropyl and the term " (C1-C3) alkoxy" is used to designate methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy and isopropoxy. 10
The term "aryl- (C2-C16) alkanoyl" is used to designate a group of the formula
15
wherein Aryl and nx are as previously defined and the al-kylene chain (CnlH2nl) may be straight or branched. The aryl moiety of said group may be substituted with substituents as 20 indicated in connection with the aroyl groups above. Examples of aryl-(C2-C16) alkanoyl groups are phenacetyl, p-chlorophenyl-acetyl, p-trif luoromethoxyphenylacetyl and phenylhexanoyl.
Examples of hetero-aryl alkanoyl groups having one to three 25 heteroatoms selected from 0, S and N in the hetero-aryl moiety and 2 to 10 carbon atoms in the alkanoyl moiety and which are unsubstituted or substituted in the hetero-aryl moiety as indi¬cated above are thiophen-2-yl-acetyl and pyrid-4-yl-hexanoyl.
30 The term " (C1-C4)alkyl" in the meaning of R3 is used to desig¬nate a straight or branched alkyl group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms including methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, 1-methyl propyl, 2-methyl propyl and t-butyl.
35 According to another aspect of the invention there is pro¬vided processes for the preparation of compounds of the gen¬eral formula (I) above.

Accordingly there is provided a process for the preparation of an aporphine mono-ester derivative having the general formula (I')

wherein
one of R1 and R'2 is hydrogen and the other one is selected from the group consisting of acetyl, (C3-CZ0) alkanoyl; halo-(C3-C30) alkanoyl; (C3-C30)alkenoyl; (C4-C7)cycloalkanoyl/- (C3-Cs)-
10 cycloalkyl (C2-C15) alkanoyl; aroyl which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (CC1-C3)aJalkyl and {C1-C3) alkoxy, which latter may in turn be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; aryl (C2-C16) alkanoyl
15 which is unsubstituted or substituted in the aryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, (C1-C3) alkyl and (C1-C3) alkoxy, which latter may in turn be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and hetero-arylalkanoyl having one to three heteroatoms selected from O,
20 S and N in the heteroaryl moiety and 2 to 10 carbon atoms in the alkanoyl moiety and which is unsubstituted or substituted in the heteroaryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethane¬sulphonyloxy, (C1-C3) alkyl, and (C1-C3) alkoxy, which latter
25 may in turn be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and
R3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; (C1-C3) -alkyl, which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 halo¬gen atoms; cyclopropyl and cyclopropylmethyl; which process comprises

WO 02/14279
PCT/SE01/01658

a) reacting an aporphine of the general formula (II),

wherein R3 is defined as above, with an acid chloride of the 5 general formula (III)
R„-Cl wherein R4 is as defined for said other one of R1 and R'2 above, in the molar ratio of aporphine to acid chloride of from 1:1 to 1:5 and in trifluoracetic acid and methylene 10 chloride (CH2C12) ;
b) after the reaction being completed, evaporating the sol¬vents or lyophilizing the reaction mixture,-
15 c) dissolving the residual crude product mixture in CH2C12 and purifying by cromatography on Al203 eluting with CH2C12 and then with t-BuOH:CH2Cl2 or EtOH:CH2Cl2 mixtures in a step¬wise gradient of increasing concentration of t-BuOH and EtOH, respectively, of from 1 to 15 % by volume, preferably from 2
20 to 10 % by volume, of the mixture, and isolating fractions
containing the isomeric mono-ester derivatives of the formula (I') ; and
d) separating said isomeric mono-ester derivatives of formula 25 (I') by known techniques to isolate a single mono-ester of the formula (I') .

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
According to the present invention there is also provided a process for the preparation of an aporphine di-ester deriva¬tive having the general formula (I")

wherein
one of R'1 and R"2 is acetyl and the other one is selected from the group consisting of (C3-C20) alkanoyl; halo- (C3-C30) alkanoyl; (C3-Cao) alkenoyl; (C4-C,) cycloalkanoyl; (C3-C6) -
10 cycloalkyl (C2-C16) alkanoyl; aroyl which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (CC1-C3)alkyl and (C1-C3) alkoxy, which latter may in turn be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; aryl (C3-C16) alkanoyl
15 which is unsubstituted or substituted in the aryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, (C1-C3)alkyl and (C1-C3) alkoxy, which latter may in turn be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and hetero-arylalkanoyl having one to three heteroatoms selected from 0,
20 S and N in the heteroaryl moiety and 2 to 10 carbon atoms in the alkanoyl moiety and which is unsubstituted or substituted in the heteroaryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethane-sulphonyloxy, (C1-C3) alkyl, and (C1-C3) alkoxy, which latter
25 may in turn be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and
R3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; (C1-C3-alkyl, which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 halo¬gen atoms; cyclopropyl and cyclopropylmethyl; which process comprises

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
a) reacting an aporphine mono-ester of the general formula (I')

5 wherein
one of R1 and R'2 is hydrogen and the other one is acetyl and R3 is as defined above, with an acid chloride of the general formula (IV)
RS-C1 10 wherein R5 is as defined for said other one of R'1 and R"2 above, in the molar ratio of aporphine mono-ester to acid chloride of from 1:1 to 1:5 and trifluoracetic acid and meth¬ylene chloride (CH2C12) ;
15 b) after the reaction being completed, evaporating the sol¬vents or lyophilizing the reaction mixture;
c) dissolving the residual crude product mixture in CH2C12
and purifying by cromatography on A1203 eluting with CH2C12
20 and then with t-BuOH:CH2Cl2 or EtOH:CH2Cl2 mixtures in a step¬wise gradient of increasing concentration of t-BuOH and EtOH, respectively, of from 1 to 15 % by volume, preferably from 2 to 10 % by volume, of the mixture, and isolating fractions containing the isomeric di-ester derivatives of the formula
25 (I') ; and
d) separating said isomeric di-ester derivatives of formula
(I") by known techniques to isolate a single di-ester of the
formula (I") .

WO 02/14279

PCT/SE01/01658

In a first modification of the method for the preparation of an aporphine di-ester derivative having the general formula (I") as defined above a mono-eater of the general formula (I') , wherein R1 and R2 are as defined in connection with said for-5 mula except that neither thereof is acetyl, is reacted with acetyl chloride in a step a) in the molar ratio of aporphine mono-ester to acetyl chloride of from 1:1 to 1:5 and trifluo-roacetic acid and methylene chloride (CH2-Cl2) , whereafter steps b) to d) aa above follows.
10
In another modification of the method for the preparation of an aporphine di-ester derivative having the general formula (I") aa defined above a mono-ester of the general formula (I') , wherein R1 and R'2 are as defined in connection with
15 said formula except that neither thereof is acetyl, is re¬acted in a step a) with acetic acid anhydride in CH2C13 in the presence of a basic catalyst such as triethylamine or pyridine whereafter steps b) to d) as above follows.
20 Alternatively, an aporphine mono-acetyl ester is reacted with the anhydride of an acid of the formula (V)
Rs-OH wherein Rs is as defined above, in a step a) in CH2C12 in the presence of a basic catalyst such as triethylamine or pyri-
25 dine whereafter steps b) to d) as above follows.
Aporphines, being catechols, are very sensitive to oxidation (e.g. in atmospheric air) . This is especially true under ba¬sic conditions (a basic solution of apomorphine turns green 30 to blue to violet to black in air) . It is thus virtually im¬possible to handle Such aporphines in the free base form, without the addition of antioxidants.
In addition, the pro-drugs of the present invention are de-35 signed to be easily hydrolyzed, making it difficult to use Si02 and nucleophilic alcohols for purification of the apor¬phine esters of the invention via column chromatography.

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
In step a) of the processes according to the present inven¬tion the esterification of the aporphines and the mono-acetyl ester of aporphines, respectively, is performed under acidic conditions in trifluoracetic acid (CF3COOH) diluted with 5 methylene chloride (CH2C12), a suitable dilution ratio being about 3-10 times. The acid chloride, possibly dissolved in CH2-Cl2, is added to the aporphine or aporphine mono-acetyl ester, respectively, at a molar ratio between aporphine or aporphine mono-ester to acid chloride of from 1:1 to 1:5. The 10 optimal ratio will vary depending on the steric properties of the acid chloride but will generally be within the range of from 1:1 to 1:2.
The reaction can be monitored by means of TLC (Al203 and 15 eluting with CH2C12 or CH2Cl2: t -BuOH mixtures or CH2Cl2:EtOH mixtures).
After the reaction has become complete (generally within 1-24 h, depending on the acid chloride and molar ratio used) the 20 solvents are evaporated from the reaction mixture or the re¬action mixture is lyophilized in step b) of the processes of the invention. Evaporation of the solvents is generally car¬ried out under reduced pressure.
25 For purification according to step c) of the processes of
the present invention the residual crude product mixture from step b) is, in step c) dissolved in CH2Cla and purified by chromatography on A1203, elution being carried out by using first CH2-Cl2 and then with mixtures of t-BuOH and CH2C12 in a
30 stepwise gradient of increasing concentration of t-BuOH of
from 1 to 15 % by volume of t-BuOH calculated on the mixture, preferably from 2 to 10 % by volume, for instance in steps of 1.0, 2.0, 5.0 and 10 %. During the elution fractions contain¬ing the desired isomeric ester derivatives are collected. In
35 case of the preparation of mono-esters, starting from an
aporphine, potentially formed di-symmetric esters, will elute first and the mono-ester isomers (10-ester, 11-OH and lo-OH, 11-ester) thereafter. Unreacted aporphine (which is a cate-

WO 02/14279 PCT/SEO1/01658

chol) will stick to the column. The isomeric mono-esters may-then be separated using known techniques such as flash chro¬matography, preparative HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chroma¬tography) , crystallization and other methods known per se. 5 However, some of the isomeric mono-esters may prove difficult to separate and in such a case the mixture of the two isomers may be used as the starting material for the preparation of asymmetric di-esters or as the active principle in a pharma¬ceutical preparation. 10
In case of the preparation of the asymmetric di-esters, starting from an individual mono-ester isomer, the asymmetric di-esters will elute first and unreacted mono-esters thereafter.
15 Also in this case, when starting from a mixture of the two
possible isomers of the mono-ester resulting from the esteri-fication process of the present invention, the two di-ester isomers may prove difficult to separate and so it may appear advantageous to use the mixture of isomers as the active
20 principle in a pharmaceutical preparation rather than taking the cost for the separation of the isomers.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a pharmaceutical composition comprising, as an 25 active principle, at least one aporphine derivative of for¬mula I as defined above or a physiologically acceptable salt thereof together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or excipient.
30 The term nat least one" as used in the paragraph next above is primarily meant to refer to the case when the mixture of two isomers resulting from the esterification process of "the present invention is difficult to separate and hence it might appear advantageous to use said mixture rather than a single
35 isomer. It might also appear advantageous to use the mixture of the two isomers or a combination of two compounds according to the invention having different combinations of the meanings of the symbols R1 and R2 in formula I between each other.

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
The aporphine ester pro-drugs of formula I according to the invention may be incorporated in the pharmaceutical composi¬tion according to the invention as the base or as an acid addition salt, especially the hydrochloride salt. Other suit-5 able salts are those formed by the acids HBr and sulphonic acids like methanesulphonic acid, octanesulphonic acid and hexadecansulphonic acid.
From the discussion in the section Background art it is ap-
10 parent that there is a need for improved ways of administra¬tion for apomorphine and/or apomorphine pro-drugs, which are not well absorbed orally and/or are targets for extensive first pass elimination. According to the present invention it was surprisingly found that a dosage form with a prolonged
15 duration of action can be achieved by using aporphine pro¬drugs of formula I according to the invention suspended (as a neat oil or as crystals, or dissolved in a suitable and pharmaceutically acceptable solvent (e.g. water, ethanol, DMSO, i-PrOH or benzylbenzoate) > in a pharmaceutically ac-
20 ceptable depot oil (e.g. viscoleo, sesame oil or olive oil) and injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly with a syringe or a "pen injector". Alternatively, these drugs may, in a suitable composition and with a suitable vehicle (penetration enhancer), be applied to a patch for transdermal administra-
25 tion. The composition could include also a local anesthetic (e.g. lidocaine) to avoid injection pain, in particular at intramuscular injections.
Thus, according to a preferred embodiment of the pharmaceuti-30 cal composition of the present invention said composition is in the form of a patch or an ointment for transdermal admini¬stration. Said patch or ointment preferably also comprises stabilizers, solubilizers and permeation activators to facili¬tate the passage of the active principle through the skin. 35
According to another preferred embodiment of the composition according to the present invention said composition is in the form of a depot preparation for subcutaneous or intramuscular

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658

administration comprising said aporphine derivative of for¬mula I or the physiologically acceptable salt thereof dis¬solved or suspended in an oil As indicated above such a com position preferably, in addition to the aporphine derivative 5 of formula I or the physiologically acceptable salt thereof, contains a local anesthetic.
An injectable depot formulation is a dosage form, which is generally intended to have a therapeutic activity for 2 to 4 10 weeks after administration (e.g. neuroleptics like Fluphen-azine decanoate in sesame oil) . In order to maintain effec¬tive drug plasma levels the dosage form should release the drug at a more or less constant rate during the desired dos¬ing interval. The actual working principle to obtain this
15 prolonged drug release is rather simple. Since the drug sub¬stance has to reach the systemic circulation to display its effect, most depot injection systems decrease the transport rate of the drug from the site of injection to the circula¬tion. The subcutaneous route of administration avoids the
20 problem of the first pass effect, which is very crucial in the case of Apomorphine, which is a catechol and is thus sensitive for oxidation, conjugation and COMT inactivation. Apomorphine can not be given orally due to extensive first pass metabolization.
25
A suitable form of depot preparation is the subcutaneous or intramuscular administration of an oil solution and/or oil suspension of a lipophilic drug. This gives a'slow transport over the oil-biofluid interface and a slow dissolution in the
30 biophase. Thus, when the drug is dissolved in an apolar solvent (e.g. oils) , which is non-miscible with the aqueous biological fluids, the drug has to be transported over the oil/water inter¬face. When the oil/water partition coefficient is high, the transport will be slow. For very lipophilic drugs, the re-
35 lease from the oil phase may last for up to several weeks.
The maximum volume of an oil solution/suspension to be in¬jected intramuscularly or subcutaneously is 2-4 mL. This is

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658

feasible for the preparations of the aporphine derivatives of the present invention. The accumulated daily dose used in apomorphine s.c. therapy in Parkinson's disease is 4-10 times about 1-4 mg (4-4 0 mg/day). For the animal experiments per-5 formed in the pharmacological research, which led to the pre¬sent invention, ca 2 mg Apomorphine x HC1 (or equivalent molar amount of compounds according to Formula I above, as the base or as a suitable salt or ion-pair) was dissolved in 1 mL of an oil (sesame oil, Viscoleo or another approved oil) and the
10 mixture was gently heated (max 50°C) , shaken in a test tube shaker and ultrasonicated for a short time (minutes) until the mixture became a homogeneous solution or suspension. If necessary, the test compound was first dissolved in 50-300 uL DMSO, water, t-BuOH, PEG, benzylbenzoate, or another suitable
15 and approved solvent or mixtures thereof, before adding the oil (see above) to a total volume of 1 mL.
Other suitable administration forms for the aporphine deriva¬tives of formula I according to the invention include forms 20 suited for oral, sublingual, pulmonary, rectal, vaginal or intraduodenal administration.
A preferred form of a pharmaceutical composition intended for oral administration is one which is provided with an enteric 25 coating which is quickly dissolved in the duodenum/small in¬testine.
Such a form may comprise a tablet core prepared by compress¬ing a mixture of active ingredient(s) , excipients, adjuvants 30 and possible other additives which core is then provided with an enteric coating.
Alternatively such a form may comprise a mixture of active ingredient(s) and appropriate excipients and adjuvants en-35 closed in a capsule dissolving in duodenum/small testine and thus functioning as an enteric coating for said mixture. Preferably said mixture is in the form of a solution of the active ingredient(s) in a solvent.

WO 02/14279 PCT/SEO1/01658
It is preferred that the new aporphine ester pro-drugs of formula I according to the present invention are present in the composition in an amount from 0.05 to 100 mg, preferably 0.05 to 20 mg in each dosage unit. Where a high daily dose is 5 required, this may be administered in several (lower dose) injections over the day. However, this still means fewer in¬jections per day than with the presently used formulation with apomorphine x HCl in water (can reach 10-12 injections per day). 10
As mentioned above in the section Background art, DA agonists like apomorphine produce side-effects such as nausea and vom¬iting. It is therefore preferred that the composition of the invention is administered after, or in conjunction with, an 15 anti-emetic, at lesast at the start of the therapy. The anti¬emetic may be conveniently administered in the same composi¬tion as the new aporphine ester pro-drugs of the present in¬vention. Alternatively, the anti-emetic may be administered separately from the DA agonist by any of the usual oral or 20 parenteral routes of administration, for instance, by tab¬lets, capsules, suspensions, suppositories, infusions, injec¬tions, etc., at a suitable time which may be before, after or simultaneously with administration of the DA agonist. It is likely that, after an adaptation period, the anti-emetic may 25 be taken away from the therapeutic scheme.
Thus according to a further preferred embodiment of the phar¬maceutical composition according to the present invention, said composition, in addition to the aporphine derivative of 30 formula I or the physiologically acceptable salt thereof con¬tains an effective amount of an anti-emetic agent.
It is preferred that the anti-emetic is present in the compo¬sition in an amount of from 1 to 120 mg, more preferably 1-60 35 mg. However, the precise quantity of anti-emetic to be admin¬istered to the patient will depend on the anti-emetic that is selected. A well-known and much used anti-emetic is the pe¬ripheral DA antacrofcist-s 5-chloro-l-[1- [3- [2,3-dihydro~2-oxo-

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
IH-benzira±dazol~l-yi)propyll-4-piperidinyll-l,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-Qne (doraperidone) and salts thereof. Preferred daily dose range for the anti-emetic domperidone is 20-120 mg, more preferably 3 0-60 mg. Where a high daily dose is re-5 quired, this may be administered in several units of smaller dose. Another anti-emetic is Naloxone, an apomorphine anti¬dote for apomorphine's emetic effect.
For parenteral administration, fluid unit dosage forms are 10 prepared utilizing a compound of formula I of the invention or a pharmaceuticaly acceptable salt thereof and a sterile vehicle. The compound, depending on the vehicle and concen¬tration used, can be either suspended or dissolved in the vehicle. In preparing solutions, the compound can be dis-15 solved for injection and filter sterilized before filling into a suitable vial or ampoule and sealing. Advantageously, adjuvants such as local anaesthetic preservatives and buffer¬ing agents are dissolved in the vehicle. To enhance the sta¬bility, the composition can be frozen after filling into the 20 vial and the wat§r removed under vacuum. Parenteral suspen¬sions are prepared in substantially the same manner, except that the compound is suspended in the vehicle instead of be¬ing dissolved and sterilization cannot be accomplished by filtration. Possibly, a surfactant or wetting agent is in-25 eluded in the composition to facilitate a uniform distribu¬tion of the compound.
The composition may contain from 0.1 % to 99 % by weight, preferably from 1o to 60 % by weight, of the active material, 30 depending on the method of administration.
The dose of the Compound used in the treatment of the afore¬mentioned disorders will vary in the usual way with the seri¬ousness of the disorders, the weight of the sufferer, and 35 other similar factors. However, as a general guide suitable unit doses may be 0.05 to 100 mg, more suitably 0.05 to 20.0 mg, for example 0.2 to 5 mg; and such unit doses may be ad¬ministered more than once a day; for example two or three

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
times a day, so that the total daily dosage is in the range of about 0.5 to 100 mg; and such therapy may extend for a number of weeks, months, years, including the rest of the patient's life. 5
Other diseases/conditions, beside Parkinson's disease, which can be treated with aporphine pro-drugs of the present inven¬tion and in the formulation of the present invention are restless legs syndrome (RLS), hemicrania, erectile dysfunc-
10 tion (impotence in men) and also sexual stimulation in e.g. menopausal women (stimulation of vaginal lubrication and erection of clitoris), hyperprolactemia and psychoses (e.g. schizophrenia). The herewith mentioned diseases do not form a limitation to the present invention, thus, other diseased
15 states involving the DA-ergic system may also be relevant for treatment with compounds of the present invention.
When administered in accordance with the invention, no unac¬ceptable toxicological effects are expected with the com-20 pounds of the invention.
DA agonists, especially apomorphine, can be used to predict the likely response to levodopa in patients with Parkinson's disease. Accordingly, the present invention in a further aspect 25 thereof provides the use of a pharmaceutical composition as defined above for use in the evaluation of Parkinson's disease.
In still another aspect of the present invention there is provided the use of an aporphine derivative of formula I as
30 defined above for the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, hemicrania, restless legs syndrome (RLS), sexual dysfunction in men and women, hyper¬prolactemia and psychotic disorders, and/or evaluation of Parkinson's disease.
35
According to one aspect of the best mode contemplated at pre¬sent for carrying out the invention, the pharmaceutical com¬position is in a form suited for oral administration which is

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
provided with an enteric coating which is quickly dissolved in the duodenum/small intestine,
According to another aspect of the best mode contemplated at 5 present for carrying out the invention, the aporphine deriva¬tive is mono-butyryl apomorphine.
The invention will now be further described by means of a number of examples which are not to be construed as limiting 10 the present invention.
Examples
Apparatuses and analysis methods
15
Melting points were determined in open glass capillaries on an Electrothermal digital melting-point apparatus and are uncorrected. Mass spectra were obtained on an Unicam 610-Automass 150 GC-MS system, or on a PE-Sciex API 3000 triple
20 quadrupole mass spectrometer (Sciex, Concord, Ont., Canada) equipped with a Turbo Ionspray interface. Progress of the reaction was followed on a Perkin-Elmer 8410 Gas Chromato-graph equipped with a Cp Sil 5 Column. Free hydroxy groups of the products were derivatized with acetic anhydride or buty-
25 ryl chloride. Column chromatography was performed with Alumi¬num Oxide 90 active neutral, starting with CH2C12 as eluents, and gradually increasing its polarity by adding tert-butanol up to 10% (v/v). Thin layer chromatography was performed on Al203 60 F254 neutral plates.
30
Example 1 Mono-acetyl apomorphine
Apomorphine HC1 (0.25 g, 0.83 mmol) was dissolved in CH2C12 (25 mL) and trifluoroacetic acid (2 mL). The mixture was 35 stirred on ice. Acetyl chloride (0.13 g, 1.65 rnmol) was
added. The temperature slowly increased to room temperature. The reaction mixture was left overnight, and was then evapo¬rated under reduced pressure, yielding a yellow oil. Purifi-

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
cation by column chromatography yielded 17.4 mg (0.056 mmol, 6.8 %) of gray crystals. API-MS: m/z 310 (M+H)+.
Example 2 Mono-butyryl apomorphine
Apomorphine HCl (0.25 g, 0.83 mmol) was dissolved in CH2C12 (25 mL) and trifluoroacetic acid (2 mL). The mixture was stirred on ice. Butyryl chloride (0.09 g, 0.83 mmol) was added. The temperature slowly increased to room temperature.
10 After 3.5 hours, 0.5 equivalents of butyryl chloride was
added. Another 0.5 equivalent was added after 5.5 hours. The reaction mixture was left overnight and was then evaporated under reduced pressure, yielding an yellow oil. Purification by column chromatography yielded the product as a colorless
15 oil. Crystallization from hexane yielded 14 mg (0.042 mmol, 5.1 %) of gray crystals: mp 99-102°C; API-MS: m/z 338 (M+H)+.
Example 3 Mono-pivaloyl apomorphine
20 Apomorphine HCl (0.45 g, 1.49 mmol) was dissolved in CH2C12 (25 mL) and trifluoro-acetic acid (2 mL). The mixture was stirred on ice. Pivaloyl chloride (0.54 g, 4.46 mmol) was added. The temperature slowly increased to room temperature. The reaction mixture was left overnight, and was then evaporated
25 under reduced pressure, yielding an yellow oil. Purification by column chromatography yielded the product as a colorless oil. Crystallization from hexane yielded 114 mg (0.32 mmol, 21.8 %) of gray crystals: mp 128-130°C; API-MS: m/z 393 (M+) .
30 Example 4 Mono-hexadecanoyl apomorphine
Theoretical yield: 98 mg (base)
Synthesis 1: Apomorphine x HCl (50.0 mg; 0.164 mmol) was dis-35 solved in CF3COOH (0.3 mL) and one equivalent (0.164 mmol;
45.1 mg = 49.7 /xL) of hexadecanoyl chloride was added in one batch at room temperature. TCL (Al203; CH3Cl2:EtOH 9:1 or 5:1 was checked at different times).

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658

First 2 eg. were added and after a night at room temperature the solvent was evaporated and the residue was redissolved in CH2Cl2 and a sample was taken with a pipette and chromato-graphed on a pipette filled with Al203. Elution was performed 5 with first CH2Cl2 and then with CH2Cl2BtOH (9:1). The isolated product (fraction 17, 5 mg) was dissolved in Viscoleo and one normal rat in a dose of 10 mg/kg (corresponds to ca 5 mg/kg ApoxHCl) s.c. in the neck. Clear signs of dopaminergic activ¬ity for a very long time (ca 24 h).
10
It was believed that the initial reaction was incomplete and therefore another 3 eqv. were added. It looked as if this brought the reaction to completion. After chromatography (see above) the isolated product (15 mg) was dissolved in Viscoleo
15 and sc injected into two rats (ca 3.7 mg/kg; corr. to 2 mg/kg of ApoxHCl) in a concentration of 3. 7 mg/mL. No effect what¬soever was found.
Explanation: The first small batch contained both mono- and
20 di-C16-Apo and obviously displayed activity when injected in Viscoleo. The second batch contained only di-C16-Apo, which is obviously not (or very slowly) hydrolyzing in vivo com¬pletely to Apo itself. Therefore, a new batch was started and the reaction controlled by API Ms.
25
Synthesis 2: The same reaction was set up, thus a 50 mg batch. This time 1 eqv. was added and the reaction was checked and found incomplete. However, no di-C16 had yet formed. Thus, another eqv. was added and API Ms showed ca 60 %, 100 % and
30 10 % of Apo, mono-C16-Apo and di-C16-Apo, respectively. It was decided the reaction was stopped at this stage and the solvent (CF3COOH) was evaporated. The residue was dissolved in ca 1 mL CH2C12 and put on a pipette Al203 column and eluted with CH2C12 and then CH2Cl2:EtOH (9:1) . Fractions 28-31 were
35 analyzed with API Ms and were shown to contain ca 50/50 of Apo and mono-C16-Apo, despite the fact that the Apo put on the column should be held tightly by Als03! Therefore, to fractions 28-31 was added one drop of pyridine and thereafter

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
one drop of Ac20 for acetylation of any free OH group in the fractions. Very surprisingly, no di-Ac-Apo was found in the API Ms samples! Thus, no Apo is present in these samples af¬ter chromatography. Apo must have been formed in the samples 5 diluted with MeOH in preparation for the API Ms runs. Mono-CIS -Apo is thus very sensitive to methanolysis (and probably to hydrolysis) and should not come in contact with nucleo-philic alcohols like MeOH and EtOH! However, a non-nucleophilic alcohol like t-BuOH should be OKI
10
The rest of the batch was put onto a Al203 (ca 5 g) column and eluted with CH2Cl2 and then CH2CL2: EtOAc in increasing EtOAc con¬centrations. However, no distinct fractions containing the prod¬uct were seen. Thus, a mixture of CH2Cl2:t-BuOH (9:1) was applied
15 and a spot was observed in fractions 53 and 54, which were pooled leaving only 4.5 mg of a fluorescent product, which was confirmed on API Ms to be mono-hexadecanoyl apomorphine.
Examples 5 to 18 20
In analogy to the procedure of Examples 1 to 4 further apo¬morphine mono-esters were prepared using the appropriate acid chlorides.
25 The mono-esters prepared in Examples 1 to 18 and analysis data are summarized in the following Table 1.
Table 1
Example No. Acid used [M+H]* of mono-ester
1 Acetyl chloride 310
2 Buturyl chloride 338
3 Pivaloyl chloride 352
4 Hexadecanoyl chloride 5O6
5 Propionyl chloride 324
5 Decanoyl chloride 422
7 Isobuturyl chloride 338
8 Propenoyl chloride 322

WO 02/14279
Example No. Acid used [M+H]* of mono-ester
9 Cyclopropanoyl chloride 336
10 Cyclohexanoyl chloride 378
11 Benzoyl chloride 372
12 Phenylacetyl chloride 386
13 o-Methoxybenzoyl chloride 402
14 p-Trifluormethoxybenzoyl chloride 456
15 p-Chlorobenzoyl chloride 406
16 p-Chlorophenylacetyl chloride 420
17 3,4,5-Trimethoxybenzoyl chloride 462
18 2-Thiophenylacetyl chloride 392
Examples 19 to 23
Asymmetric di-esters of apomorphine were prepared in a two-5 step process using in each step a methodology analogous to that of Examples 1 to 18.
In the first step 15 mM apomorphine was reacted with acetyl chloride in TFA to give a mixture of the 10,11-isomeric mono-10 acetyl apomorphines. In the second step, in each example an acid chloride as set forth in Table 2, below, was added. Table 2 also gives analysis data for the products thus prepared.

Example No. Acid chloride in the 2:nd step [M+H]* of product
19 Buturyl chloride 380
20 Isobuturyl chloride 380
21 Cyclopropanoyl chloride 378
22 Hexadecanoyl chloride 548
23 Pivaloyl chloride 394
15
Example 24
ApomorphinexHCl (50 mg, 165 umol) was dissolved in ca 0.5 uL CP3C0OH and pivaloylchloride (4 eqv., 660 /miol, 4x19.8 mg or 20 uL = 79.2 uL) was added at 0°C. After ca 5 min the ice bath

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
was removed and the temperature wag allowed to reach room temperature and the reaction was allowed to stir over night. The volatiles were removed on the rotavapor under reduced pressure and the remaining oil was dissolved in CH2Cl2:EtOH 5 (20:1) and was applied to a Al203 (neutral) column (10-15 g) and was eluted with CH2Cl2:EtOH (2 0:1) and the pure fractions containing the mono-pivaloylated APO were collected (35 mg after evaporation of the solvents) and the mono-Piv-APO (10-Piv-APO or 11-Piv-APO) was documented with NMR (300 MHz) and 10 MS (API, see Table 1).
The collected product (35 mg) was dissolved in ca 0.5 mL CF3COOH and acetylchloride (ca 2 eqv. of the starting amount APOxHCl (i.e. 165x2=330 umol = 2x12.9 = 25.8 fih) was added
15 at room temperature. The volatiles were evaporated and the remaining oil was dissolved in CH2C12 and was applied to a Al203 (neutral) column and the products were eluted with first CH2C12 and then with CH2Cl2:EtOH (20:1). The fractions containing the two isomers of piv,Ac-APO were taken to NMR
20 (fraction 45) and to biological testing (fraction 46; 6.5 mg and fraction 47; 1.5 mg). GC/MS was documented for fractions 45-4 7 and gave the following relationships between the iso¬mers: fraction 45 first peak/second peak = 75/25; fraction 46: 67/33 and fraction 47: 83/17, respectively.
25
Exempel 25
ApomorphinexHCl (50 mg, 165 /uol) was dissolved in ca 0.5 mL CF3C0OH and propionylchloride (4 eqv., 660 umol, 3x15.2 mg or
30 uL = 45.6/1.4 uL = 32.6 fih) was added at room temperature. TLC on Al203 in CH2C12 and CH2Cl2/EtOH (20:1) shows that there is probably too much propionyl chloride added (major product was di-propionyl). Despite this fact, 2 eqv. of acetyl chlo¬ride were added, without first separating, to convert unre-
35 acted propionyl-apo to acetyl,propionyl-apo.
After a night in room temperature, the volatiles were evapo¬rated and the remaining oil was dissolved in CH2C12 and was

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
applied to an A1203 (neutral) column and the products were eluted with first CHaCl2 and then with CH2Cl2EtOH (20:1). The fractions containing the two isomers of propionyl,Ac-APO and the di-propionyl-Apo were taken to NMR and to biological
5 testing. These fractions contained ca 95 % of the di-propionyl-Apo and ca 5 % of the mixed isomers propionyl, Ac-Apo. GC/MS was documented and showed two small peaks for the disymmetric isomers and a big peak for the di-propionyl-Apo.
10 Examples 26-29
By a procedure analogous to that of Example 24 further asym¬metric diesters of apomorphine were prepared using in the first step an acid chloride as set forth in Table 3 below. In the 15 second step reaction with acetyl chloride was performed. Table 3 also gives analysis data for the products thus prepared.
Table 3
Example No. Acid chloride in the l:st step [M+H]* of product
24 Buturyl chloride 380
25 Isobuturyl chloride 380
26 Isopropanoyl chloride 378
27 Hexadecanoyl chloride 548
20 Examples 28-35
By a procedure analogous to that of Examples 1-18 but using R(-)-propylnorapomorphine as starting material rather than apomorphine a further series of mono-esters were obtained.
25
Thus 5 mM R (-)-propylnorapomorphine in dichlormethane con¬taining 3 % TFA was reacted with the respective acid chlo¬rides set forth in Table 4 below to obtain the corresponding mono-ester isomers as a mixture. Table 4 also gives analysis
30 data for the products thus prepared.

WO 02/14279
Table 4
Example No. Acid chloride used [M+HJ* of product
28 Acetyl chloride 338
29 Propanoyl chloride 352
30 Cyclopropanoyl chloride 364
31 Buturyl chloride 366
32 IsobuturyX chloride 3 66
33 Pivaloyl chloride 380
34 Decanoyl chloride 4S0
35 Hexadecanoyl chloride 534
Examples 36-43
5 Using the reaction mixtures obtained according to Examples 28-35 as starting materials for the reaction with acetyl chloride in analogy to the procedure of Examples 19 to 2 8 a further series of asymmetric di-esters were prepared. Table 5 below states the different starting materials and gives 10 analysis data for the products thus prepared.
Table 5
Example No. Starting material from Ex. No. [M+H]* of product
36 28 380
37 23 394
38 30 406
39 31 408
40 32 408
41 33 422
42 34 492
43 35 576
Formulation example
15
Preparation of a depot dosage form of aporphine esters of the present invention in oil.

WO 02/14279 PCT/SEO1/01658
10
15
An aporphine eater of the present invention, as the free base or as the salt, is ideally directly dissolved in a pharmaceu-tically accepted oil (see below) or first dissolved or sus¬pended in a suitable solvent like an alcohol (e.g. t-BuOH) or in DMSO, PEG etc., and this solution is, thereafter, dissolved or suspended in a suitable oil (e.g. sesame oil, Viscoleo, olive oil, walnut oil). An antioxidant may also be included in order to protect the formulation from oxidative degrada¬tion. After appropriate sterilization (autocalve, gamma-irradiation, ethylene oxide, sterile filtration etc.), the solution (mixture, suspension) is stored in the freezer until use. Before use, the solution should aquire room temperature and then be shaken vigorously before injecting the solution or suspension subcutaneously (s.c.) or intramuscularly (i.m.).
Due to the potential nausea and ernesis induced by apomor-phine, naive subjects may be pre-treated with an anti-emetic like domperidone. After a periode of treatment, such domperi-done therapy is likely to be redundant due to the patients' adaptation to apomorphine.
Preferably, each portion or designated unit dosage form con¬tains from 0.5 to 20 mg or aporphine esters of the present invention (or an equivalent amount of the salt/ion-pair), 25 more preferably from 0.5 to 15 mg and especially 1 mg.
Pharmacokinetic studies
Protocol for the determination of apomorphine in plasma 30
Apparatuses
The samples were analyzed offline with an RP-HPLC with an electrochemical detector. The system comprised, of an ANTEC 35 electrochemical detector, a C-18 column, a GILSON 231 sampler injector and a GILSON 401 Diluter, a PHARMACIA HPLC pump 2150, and Kipp en Zonen flatbed recorder. The flow was 0.25 mL/min.

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
The mobile phase was: 2000 mL UP 86O mL methanol 34 g citric acid monohydrate 5 13.5 g NaHPO3*2H20 1.43 g EDTA 25 mg/L OSA 1 mM TMA
The solvent your was ultra filtered (UP). 10
Animals
The test animals used were male albino Wistar rats weighing between 200 and 370 g. Food and water were available to the
15 rats all the time. They were set in a normal 12 hour day night rhythm. Before the operation the animals resided in a larger cage with a group of rats. During the experiments they were alone in a cage with the dimensions 25 * 25 * 35 cm. The blood sampling was performed in freely moving animals, which were all
20 conscious. In this way potential behavioral changes from the treatment could be registered. The operation consisted of the application of a cannula in the vena jugularis. After an ex¬periment the rats were given at least 24 hours to recover.
25 Sampling and extraction of blood
Through a jugularis cannula, blood was taken from the freely moving rats. This took place with an injection syringe and a PE-tubing with the diameter of 0.75 mm. 30
1. the sampling times were: t = 0, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 720 and 1440 minutes.
2. in Eppendorf test tubes, 10 uL of 0.35 % mercapto ethanol and 10 uL of 10% EDTA was spiked (final concentration mer-
35 capto ethanol is 0.01 %).
3. 0.35 mL of blood was collected in the Eppendorf test tubes
(see under 2 above).

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
4. the blood collected was centrifuged for five minutes at 22°C and 350 0 rounds per minute.
5. 200 uL of plasma was pipetted off and transsferred into clean test tubes.
5 6. these test tubes were stored at minus 18°C until a analyzed.
Extraction of plasma
To the plasma was added a solution containing 500 ng/mL NPA 10 (N-Propyl-norapomorphine). NPA is the internal standard with a final concentration of 50 ng/mL. Additionally, on 100 uL of a 1 % solution of sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHC03) was added.
1. 3 ml of diethylether (P.A. quality) was added with a glass
15 pipette.
2. all test tubes where shaken for three minutes on a Mul-
tivortex shaker.
3 . the test tubes were centrifuged for 15 minutes at 4°C and 1000 rounds per minute. 20 4. the ether layer was pipetted off and brought to another test tube.
5. ether extraction was performed three times.
6. the ether layers (9 mL in total) was evaporated with warm water and nitrogen gas flowing over the surface.
25 7. the remains in the test tubes, after the evaporation of the ether, were dissolved in 100 uL of the mobile phase.
8. the samples were vortexed and then put in to the centri-
fuge.
9. the samples prepared were subjected to analysis on the
30 HPLC system.
Transdermal experiment in one single rat
About 5 mg of apomorphine mono-Bu ester prepared according to 35 Example 2 was dissolved in about 120 mg of Fenuril hand cream (PNU). This amount of cream was applied with a spatula on the shaved neck of the rat, weighing about 350 g. Dopaminergic effects were seen but they were weak in their appearance.

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658

These effects were monitored for about one hour and consisted in exploratory behavior and grooming and chewing in the be¬ginning phase. After about half an hour the rats became se¬dated and was mostly sitting still with intermittent sniffing 5 and chewing and some yawning.
After one hour and 10 minutes, about five droplets of DMSO were smeared on to the rat neck. After about 10 minutes,- in¬tense jawning, sniffing, penile licking and chewing was reg-
10 istered. About 3 0 minutes after DMSO, the rat became very active with sniffing chewing and licking and displayed a typical dopaminergic syndrome including locomotor activity. The stereotypy lasted for at least two hours. After another two hours (in total 4 hours), the rat was sitting still in an
15 awkward position, sitting rather high on its four legs. Thus, the rat was not in the normal lying position and was easily activated by turning the cage. Chewing sniffing and yawning were still observed at this time (t = ca 6 h).
20 The next day at 10:00 a.m. the rat was still active showing signs of chewing. This was not a normal behavior and should be the effect of small amounts of a apomorphine still circu¬lating in the blood of the rat.
25 In a comparative experiment 7 mg of Apomorphine hydrochloride solid was dissolved in DMSO (70 microliters). The solid mate¬rial dissolved immediately and 2 0 microliters, corresponding to 2 mg of Apomorphine hydrochloride salt, was applied to the shaved rat neck. After about 10 to 15 minutes signs of chew-
30 ing and sniffing were observed. The rat became a bit sedated (due to the presynaptic effect of the drug) but continued sniffing and chewing. After about 30 minutes the rat-dis¬played stereotypy. After about two hours of intense stereo¬typy, including sniffing local motor activity rearing and
35 chewing, rather abruptly, the rat stopped. After this time, the rat mostly lay down to rest. No other signs of dopaminer¬gic activity were registered after this time.

WO 02/14279 PCT/SE01/01658
References
(1) Zaleska, B.; Domzal, T. Neurol. Neurochir. Pol. 1999, 33, 1297-1303. 5 (2) van Laar, T.; van der Geest, R.; Danhof, M.; Bodde, H.E.; Goossens, P.H.; Roos, R.A. Clin. Neuropharmacol. 1998, 21, 152-158.
(3) Gancher, S.; Nutt, J.; Woodward, W. Mov. Disord. 1991, 6(3):212-216. 10 (4) Pietz, K. ; Hagell, P.; Odin, P. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 1998, 65, 709-716.
(5) Nutt, J.G.; Carter, J.H. Neurology 20 00, 54, 247-250.
(6) Atkinson, E.R.; Battista, S.P.; Ary, I.E.; Richardson,
D.G.; Harris, L.S.; Dewey, W.L. J. Pharm. Sci. 1976, 65,
15 1682-1685.
(7) Baldessarini, R.J.; Walton, K.G.; Borgman, R.J. Neuro¬pharmacology 1976, 15, 471-478.
(8) Baldessarini, R.J.; Boyd, A.E., III,; Kula, N.S.; Borg¬man, R.J. Psychoneruoendocrinology 1979, 4, 173-175.
20 (9) Burov, Y.V.; Zagorevskii, V.A.; Varkov, A.I.; Sipiliina, N.M.; Ivanova, T.I. Khim.-Farm. Zh. 1985, 19, 1192-1194.
(10) Hinshaw, W.B., Jr.; Pearl, J; 21 pp. 1975.
(11) Seidelmann, D.; Schmiechen, R.; Horowski, R.; Kehr, W. ;
Palenschat, D.; Paschelke, G. US-A-4080456.
25 (12) Tye, N.C.; Horsman, L.; Wright, F.C.; Large, B.T.; Pul-lar, I.A. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 1977, 45, 87-90.
(13) Baldessarini, R.J.; Walton, K.G.; Borgman, R.J. Neuro¬
pharmacology 1975, 14, 725-731.
(14) Borgman, R.J,; Baldesaarini, R.J.; Walton, K.G. J. Med. 30 Chem. 1976, 19, 717-719.
(15) Borgman, R.J. Neuropharmacology 1976, 15, 471-478.
(16) Di Renzo, G.F.; Amoroso, S.; Basile, V.; Quattrone, A.;
Annunziato, L. IRCS Med. Sci.: Libr. Compend. 1982, 10, 822.
(17) Scatton, B.; Worms, P. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Phar-
35 macol. 197.8, 303, 271-278.
(18) Scatton, B.; Worms, P. J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 1979, 31,
861-863.

WE CLAIM:
1. An aporphine derivative having the general formula (I)

wherein
one of R1 and R2 is hydrogen or acetyl and the other one is selected from the
group consisting of (C3-C2o)alkanoyl; halo(C3-C2o) alkanoyl; (C3-C20) alkenoyl;
halo(C4-C7)cycloalkanoyl; (C3-C6)-cycloalkyl(C2-Ci6)alkanoyl; aroyl which is
unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group
consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesuiphonyloxy, (C1-C3)alkyl
and (C1-C3)alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when
these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; aryl (C2-
Ci6)alkanoyl which is unsubstituted or substituted in the aryl moiety by 1 to
3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, (C1-C3)alkyl
and (C1-C3) alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when
these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and
heteroarylalkanoyl having one to three heteroatoms selected from O, S and
N in the heteroaryl moiety and 2 to 10 carbon atoms in the alkanoyl moiety
and which is unsubstituted or substituted in the heteroaryl moiety by 1 to 3
substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano,
trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (C1-C3)alkyl, and (C1-C3)alkoxy, as being
substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when these groups are substituted
they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and
R3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; (C1-C4)- alkyl, which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; cyclopropyl and cyclopropylmethyl, and the physiologically acceptable salts thereof.
2. An aporphine derivative as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of R1 and R2 is hydrogen or acetyl and the other one is selected from the group consisting of (C3-C2o)alkanoyl, (C4-C7)-cycloalkanoyl, benzoyl which is unsubstituted or substituted by a chlorine atom or 1 to 3 methoxy

groups, phenylacetyl wherein when this group is substituted it contains a chlorine atom, and heteroarylacetyl, and R3 is (C1-C3)alkyl or cyclopropyl.
3. An aporphine derivative as claimed in claim 2, wherein one of R1 and R2 is hydrogen and the other one is selected from the group consisting of propanoyl, propenoyl, butanoyl, iso-butanoyl, pivaloyl, decanoyl, hexadecanoyl, cyclopropanoyl and benzoyl and R3 is methyl or propyl.
4. An aporphine derivative as claimed in claim 2, wherein one of Ri and R2 is acetyl and the other one is selected from the group consisting of butanoyl, isobutanoyl, cyclopropanoyl, cyclohexanoyl, pivaloyl, decanoyl and hexadecanoyl and R3 is methyl.
5. Process for the preparation of an aporphine mono-ester derivative having the general formula (I^

wherein
one of R'1 and R'2 is hydrogen and the other one is selected from the group consisting of acetyl, (C3-C2Q) alkanoyl; halo-(C3-CM) alkanoyl; (C3-C20) alkenoyl; (C4-C7)cycloalkanoyl; (C3-C5)-cycloalkyl(C2-Cls)alkanoyl; aroyl which is unsubstituted or

substituted by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (C1-C3)alkyl and (C1-C3)
alkoxy as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms, aryl (C2-Ci6)alkanoyl which is unsubstituted or substituted in the aryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, (C1-C3)
alkyl and (C1-C3)alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted,
wherein when these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen
atoms; and hetero-arylalkanoyl having one to three heteroatoms selected
from O, S and "N in the heteroaryl moiety and 2 to 10 carbon atoms in the
alkanoyl moiety and which is unsubstituted or substituted in the
heteroaryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group
consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (C1-C3)alkyl,
and (C1-C3)alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when
these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and R3
is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; (C1-C4)-alkyl, which is
unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; cyclopropyl and
cyclopropylmethyl; which process comprises
a) reacting an aporphine of the general formula (II),

wherein R3 is defined as above, with an acid chloride of the general formula (III)
R4-C1
wherein R4 is as defined for said other one of R'i and R'2 above, in the molar ratio of aporphine to acid chloride of from 1:1 to 1:5 and in trifluoracetic acid and methylene chloride (CH2CI2);

b) after the reaction being completed, evaporating the solvents or lyophilizing the reaction mixture;
c) dissolving the residual crude product mixture in CH2CI2 and
purifying cromatography on AI2O3 eluting with CH2CI2 and then with t-
BUOH-CH2CI2 or EtOH:CH2Cb mixtures in a step-wise gradient of
increasing concentration of t-BuOH and EtOH, respectively, of from 1 to
15 % by volume, preferably from 2 to 10 % by volume, of the mixture,
and isolating fractions containing the isomeric mono-ester derivatives of
the formula (I); and
d) separating said isomeric mono-ester derivatives of formula (I') by
known techniques to isolate a single mono-ester of the formula (F)
6. Process for the preparation of an aporphine di-ester derivative having the general formula (I)

wherein
one of R"i and Rn2 is acetyl and the other one is selected from the group consisting of (C3-C2o)alkanoyl; halo- (C3-C20) alkanoyl; (C3-C20) alkenoyl; (C4-C7) cycloalkanoyl; (C3-C6)- cycloalkyl (C2-C16) alkanoyl; aroyl which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (Ci-C3)alkyl and (C1-C3)alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; aryl (C2-Ci6)alkanoyl which is unsubstituted or substituted in the aryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, (C1-C3)alkyl and (C1-C3)alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and heteroaryl alkanoyl having one to three heteroatoms selected from O, S and N in the heteroaryl moiety and 2 to 10 carbon atoms in the alkanoyl moiety and which is unsubstituted or

substituted in the heteroaryl moiety by 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy, (C1-C3)alkyl, and (C1-C3)alkoxy, as being substituted or unsubstituted, wherein when these groups are substituted they contain 1 to 3 halogen atoms; and R3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; (C1-C4)-alkyl, which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; cyclopropyl and cyclopropylmethyl; which process comprises
a) reacting an aporphine mono-ester of the general formula (1)

wherein
one of R'i and R'2 is hydrogen and the other one is acetyl and R3 is as defined above, with an acid chloride of the general formula (IV)
Rs-Cl
wherein R5 is as defined for said other one of R"i and Rn2 above, in the molar ratio of aporphine mono-ester to acid chloride of from 1:1 to 1:5 and trifluoracetic acid and methylene chloride (CH2CI2);
b) after the reaction being completed, evaporating the solvents or lyophilizing the reaction mixture;
c) dissolving the residual crude product mixture in CH2CI2 and purifying by cromatography on AI2O3 eluting with CH2CI2 and then with

t-BuOH:CH2Cl2 and EtOH:CH2Cl2 mixtures in a stepwise gradient; of increasing concentration of t-BuOH and EtOM, respectively of from 1 to 15 % by volume, preferably from 2 to 10 % by volume, of the mixture, and isolating fractions containing the isomeric di-ester derivatives of the formula (I'); and
d) separating said isomeric di-ester derivatives of formula (1) by known techniques to isolate a single di-ester of the formula (H
7. A pharmaceutical composition comprising as an active principle at least one aporphine derivative of formula I as identified in any of claims 1-4 or a physiologically acceptable salt thereof together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or excipient.
8. A pharmaceutical composition as claimed in claim 7, wherein said composition is in the form of a patch or ointment for transdermal administration.

9. A pharmaceutical composition as claimed in claim 8, wherein said composition comprises stabilizers, stabilizers and permeation activators to facilitate the passage of the active principle through the skin.
10. A pharmaceutical composition as claimed in claim 7, wherein said composition is in the form of a depot preparation for subcutaneous or intramuscular administration comprising said aporphine derivative of formula I or the physiologically acceptable salt thereof dissolved or suspended in an oil.

11. A pharmaceutical composition as claimed in claim 10, wherein said composition in addition to the aporphine derivative of formula I or the physiologically acceptable salt thereof contains a local an-esthetic.
12. A pharmaceutical composition as claimed in claim 7, wherein said composition is in a form suited for oral, sublingual, pulmonary, rectal, vaginal or intraduodenal administration.

13. A pharmaceutical composition as claimed in any of claims 7 to 12, wherein said composition in addition to the aporphine derivative of formula I or the physiologically acceptable salt thereof contains an effective amount of an anti-emetic agent.
Dated this 27th day of January, 2003.

[DEEPAK'KUMAR]
OF REMFRY & SAGAR
ATTORNEY FOR THE APPLICANTS]

Documents:

123-mumnp-2003-cancelled pages(21-02-2007).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-claims(granted)-(21-02-2007).doc

123-mumnp-2003-claims(granted)-(21-02-2007).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-correspondence(21-02-2007).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-correspondence(ipo)-(23-03-2007).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form 18(13-07-2005).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form 1a(27-01-2003).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form 1a(29-12-2006).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form 2(granted)-(21-02-2007).doc

123-mumnp-2003-form 2(granted)-(21-02-2007).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form 3(21-02-2007).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form 3(24-11-2003).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form 3(27-01-2003).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form 3(29-12-2006).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form 5(27-01-2003).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-form-pct-ipea-409(21-01-2003).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-petition under rule 137(29-12-2006).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-petition under rule 138(29-12-2006).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-power of authority(27-01-2003).pdf

123-mumnp-2003-power of authority(29-12-2006).pdf


Patent Number 208184
Indian Patent Application Number 123/MUMNP/2003
PG Journal Number 32/2007
Publication Date 10-Aug-2007
Grant Date 19-Jul-2007
Date of Filing 27-Jan-2003
Name of Patentee AXON BIOCHEMICALS B.V.
Applicant Address ELSSCHOTLAAN 32, GRONINGEN 9721, WN,
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 HAKAN WIKSTROM ELSSCHOTLAAN 32, NL-9721 WN GRONINGN,
2 DURK DIJKSTRA DE MEIDOORN26, NL-9781 VP BEDUM,
3 THOMAS CREMERS J.A. FEITHSTR. 5A, NL-9725 A1 GRONINGEN,
4 PER ERIK ANDREN VERZETSTRIJDERSLAAN 210, NL-9727 CK GRONINGEN,
5 ULRIK JURVA JAVALAAN 15, NL-9715 GP GRONINGEN,
PCT International Classification Number C07D 221/18
PCT International Application Number PCT/SE01/01658
PCT International Filing date 2001-07-20
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 0002934-8 2000-08-18 Sweden