all publications , patents , patent applications and other references mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes as if each individual publication , patent or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference and the content thereof recited in full . where used herein and unless specifically indicated otherwise , the following terms are intended to have the following meanings in addition to any broader ( or narrower ) meanings the terms might enjoy in the art : unless otherwise required by context , the use herein of the singular is to be read to include the plural and vice versa . the term “ a ” or “ an ” used in relation to an entity is to be read to refer to one or more of that entity . as such , the terms “ a ” ( or “ an ”), “ one or more ,” and “ at least one ” are used interchangeably herein . as used herein , the term “ comprise ,” or variations thereof such as “ comprises ” or “ comprising ,” are to be read to indicate the inclusion of any recited integer ( e . g . a feature , element , characteristic , property , method / process step or limitation ) or group of integers ( e . g . features , element , characteristics , properties , method / process steps or limitations ) but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers . thus , as used herein the term “ comprising ” is inclusive or open - ended and does not exclude additional , unrecited integers or method / process steps . the phrase “ consisting essentially of ” is used herein to require the specified integer ( s ) or steps as well as those which do not materially affect the character or function of the claimed invention . as used herein , the term “ consisting ” is used to indicate the presence of the recited integer ( e . g . a feature , element , characteristic , property , method / process step or limitation ) or group of integers ( e . g . features , element , characteristics , properties , method / process steps or limitations ) alone . a “ pharmaceutical composition ” is a composition in a form , concentration and level of purity suitable for administration to a patient ( e . g . a human or animal patient ) upon which administration it can elicit the desired physiological changes . pharmaceutical compositions are typically sterile and / or non - pyrogenic . the term non - pyrogenic as applied to the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention defines compositions which do not elicit undesirable inflammatory responses when administered to a patient . as used herein , the term “ nanoparticulate ” as applied to a suspension or other composition herein , means particles having a d 50 particle size less than 2 μm and / or a d 90 particle size less than 7 μm . the d 90 particle size is a parameter such that 90 % by volume of particles in the composition are smaller in their longest dimension than that parameter , as measured by any conventional particle size measuring technique known to those skilled in the art . such techniques include , for example , sedimentation field flow fractionation , photon correlation spectroscopy , light scattering ( e . g . laser diffraction ) and disk centrifugation . in various embodiments of the present invention , suspensions are provided having a d 90 particle size less than : 3000 nm ; 2750 nm ; 2500 nm ; 2250 nm ; 2000 nm ; 1750 nm ; 1500 nm ; 1250 nm or 1000 nm , for example about 1800 nm . the d 50 particle size of a composition is a parameter such that 50 % by volume of particles in the composition are smaller in their longest dimension than that parameter , as measured by any conventional particle size measuring technique known to those skilled in the art ( and as described above ). d 50 particle size is therefore a measure of volume median particle size but is sometimes referred to as “ average ” or “ mean ” particle size . in various embodiments of the present invention , suspensions are provided having a d 90 particle size less than : 1500 nm ; 1400 nm ; 1300 nm ; 1200 nm ; 1100 nm ; 1000 nm ; 900 nm ; 800 nm ; 700 nm ; 600 nm ; 500 nm or 400 nm , for example about 600 nm . the d 10 particle size of a composition is a parameter such that 10 % by volume of particles in the composition are smaller in their longest dimension than that parameter , as measured by any conventional particle size measuring technique known to those skilled in the art ( and as described above ). in various embodiments of the present invention , suspensions are provided having a d 10 particle size less than : 1000 nm ; 900 nm ; 800 nm ; 700 nm ; 600 nm ; 500 nm ; 400 nm ; 300 nm or 200 nm , for example about 400 nm . in various embodiments of the present invention , suspensions are provided having : a d 10 particle size less than : 1000 nm ; 900 nm ; 800 nm ; 700 nm ; 600 nm ; 500 nm ; 400 nm ; 300 nm or 200 nm ; a d 50 particle size less than : 1500 nm ; 1400 nm ; 1300 nm ; 1200 nm ; 1100 nm ; 1000 nm ; 900 nm ; 800 nm ; 700 nm ; 600 nm ; 500 nm or 400 nm ; and a d 90 particle size less than : 3000 nm ; 2750 nm ; 2500 nm ; 2250 nm ; 2000 nm ; 1750 nm ; 1500 nm ; 1250 nm or 1000 nm . preferred are suspensions having a d 10 particle size less than 400 nm , a d 50 particle size less than 600 nm and a d 90 particle size less than 1800 nm . also preferred are suspensions having a d 10 particle size of about 400 nm ; and / or a d 50 particle size of about 600 nm ; and / or a d 90 particle size of about 1800 nm . the preferred route of administration is oral administration . the dose of the composition for therapy or prophylaxis as described herein is determined in consideration of age , body weight , general health condition , diet , administration time , administration method , clearance rate , combination of drugs , the level of disease for which the patient is under treatment then , and other factors . the desired dose is preferably presented as a single dose for daily administration . however , two , three , four , five or six or more sub - doses administered at appropriate intervals throughout the day may also be employed . while the dose varies depending on the target disease , condition , subject of administration , administration method and the like , for oral administration as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of duchenne muscular dystrophy in a patient suffering from such a disease is from 0 . 01 mg - 10 g , preferably 10 - 400 mg , is preferably administered in a single dose or in 2 or 3 portions per day . the invention will now be described with reference to specific examples . these are merely exemplary and for illustrative purposes only : they are not intended to be limiting in any way to the scope of the monopoly claimed or to the invention described . these examples constitute the best mode currently contemplated for practicing the invention . c1100 exhibits four polymorphic forms ( forms i - iv ). the preferred form for use in the pharmaceutical compositions described herein is the thermodynamically - stable form i polymorph , and the physical properties described in these examples are be specific to form i . polymorph form i is produced consistently by the manufacturing process described herein . it takes the form of a white to tan crystalline solid with a melting point of 160 - 161 ° c . the solubility of the drug substance at 20 ° c . in 18 different pharmaceutically - acceptable solvents has been assessed . in each case , about 25 mg of drug substance was allowed to equilibrate with 250 μl of solvent over 4 hours . the resulting saturated solutions were filtered and analysed by hplc . the results are given in the table below : additionally , c1100 is practically insoluble in water (& lt ; 1 μg / ml ), and very slightly soluble in corn oil ( 0 . 6 mg / ml ). the xrpd pattern for form i of the drug substance is shown in fig1 . the xrpd pattern shows a distinctive pattern of sharp peaks , demonstrating the crystalline nature of the solid . the water / octanol partition coefficient was determined with a profilerlda isocratic chromatography system , using an octanol - coated column with octanol - saturated mobile phases . the results show that the drug substance is highly hydrophobic with log d = 3 . 99 ± 0 . 01 at ph 7 . 4 . differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ) of the drug substance was performed using a perkin - elmer diamond dsc unit . dsc was performed in a range from 0 ° c . to 200 ° c . under a helium purge to prevent oxidation , with a scan rate of 200 ° c . per minute . the dsc trace is given in fig2 . the results show a single melting event , with onset of melting at 159 . 8 ° c ., and a latent heat of fusion of 103 . 8 j / g . thermal gravimetric analysis ( tga ) of form i shows a loss of about 0 . 9 % of total mass when a sample is heated from 20 ° c . to 250 ° c . at a rate of 10 ° c ./ minute ( see fig3 ). a monohydrate would be expected to lose over 5 . 1 % of its mass through loss of water , therefore this result indicates that form i is an anhydrous , non - solvated form . the 0 . 9 % mass loss is most likely due to residual moisture or solvent absorbed to the surface of crystals . form i was subjected to gravimetric vapour sorption analysis , ramping profile from 0 to 90 % rh at 10 % rh increments . the results demonstrate that the drug substance absorbs no more than 0 . 25 % by weight of moisture up to 90 % rh , and that this slight uptake is completely reversed under dry - air conditions . based on these results , the drug substance is not hygroscopic . c1100 is manufactured by chemical synthesis of the crystalline product , followed by jet - milling to adjust particle size . the chemical synthesis is depicted in fig4 . in brief , the crude drug substance is chemically synthesised via a two - step process . the crude drug substance is then purified , and sub - lots of purified drug substance are combined and subjected to jet - milling to reduce the particle size of the material and create the final drug substance lot . in step 1 ( 1 . 8 kg scale ), c1100 is prepared via amide bond formation between the two gmp starting materials : 2 - amino - 4 -( ethylsulfonyl ) phenol ( 1 ) and 2 - naphthoyl chloride ( 2 ) to give intermediate ( 3 ). this is followed by condensation performed in xylenes at 155 ° c ., which leads first to cyclization ( 4 ), followed by dehydration to give a solution of the crude drug substance ( 5 ). upon cooling , the product crystallises and is filtered and washed with tert - butyl methyl ether ( tbme ) prior to vacuum drying . in step 2 ( 1 kg scale ), crude drug substance is purified by recrystallisation from acetone . each batch of purified drug substance is subjected to analysis to meet an intermediate specification ( see table below ) prior to further processing . purified drug substance sub - lots that meet release criteria are combined and subjected to jet - milling . one combined purified drug substance batch is subjected to particle size reduction by jet - milling to create one bulk drug substance batch . the specifications for 2 - amino - 4 -( ethylsulfonyl ) phenol ( 1 ) and 2 - naphthoyl chloride ( 2 ) are provided in the tables , below . where necessary , purification of 1 is achieved by hot filtration in acetone , followed by recrystallisation from propan - 2 - ol / tbme , and 2 is purified by distillation . argon is accepted on the supplier &# 39 ; s certificate of analysis . xylenes , tbme , acetone and methanesulfonic acid as reagent are passed on the suppliers certificate of analysis together with an identity test ( ft - ir ) and appearance against internal specifications . prior to step 2 - 1 , recrystallisation from acetone , each batch of crude drug substance is tested to meet specified criteria . the process is also controlled at step 2 - 2 ( jet - milling ). before any pre - milled drug substance is combined to constitute a larger batch for jet - milling , each batch is tested to conform to in - process specifications . any batch of purified drug substance that does not conform to standards or specifications may be reprocessed by resubmitting the batch to step 2 - 1 , recrystallisation from acetone . final drug substance that has been jet - milled , but does not conform to standards or specifications , may also be reprocessed by subjecting the batch to step 2 - 2 . in - process tests , limits and / or specifications are described in the table below . testing is performed in accordance with compendial methods ( usp or ph . eur .). in - process tests performed during synthesis of the drug substance process sample test parameter specification test method step 1 - 2 crude appearance white to brown / black visual ( crude solid solid assessment drug identity ( 1 h nmr ) conforms with usp & lt ; 761 & gt ; substance ) reference ph . eur . 2 . 2 . 33 purity ( hplc ) ≧ 70 % ( peak area ) usp & lt ; 621 & gt ; ph . eur . 2 . 2 . 46 step 2 - 1 purified appearance off - white to tan solid visual ( pre - milled crystals assessment drug identity ( 1 h nmr ) consistent with usp & lt ; 761 & gt ; substance ) reference ph . eur . 2 . 2 . 33 identity ( ft - ir ) consistent with usp & lt ; 197 & gt ; reference ph . eur . 2 . 2 . 24 purity ( hplc ) ≧ 98 % ( peak area ) usp & lt ; 621 & gt ; ph . eur . 2 . 2 . 46 residual solvents xylenes ≦ 500 ppm usp & lt ; 467 & gt ; acetone ≦ 1000 ppm ph . eur . 2 . 4 . 24 tbme ≦ 1000 ppm heavy metals ( as pb ) ≦ 20 ppm usp & lt ; 231 & gt ; ph . eur . 2 . 4 . 8 residue on ignition ≦ 1 . 0 % usp & lt ; 281 & gt ; ( sulphated ash ) ph . eur . 2 . 4 . 14 xrpd form i usp & lt ; 941 & gt ; ph . eur . 2 . 9 . 33 the process described above has been performed under cgmp conditions for a total of 27 batches of pre - milled drug substance and two batches of final drug substance . the synthesis and purification steps demonstrate product consistency . two common crystalline polymorphs were identified by x - ray powder diffraction ( xrpd ) analysis during the development of c1100 . these are identified as “ form i ” and “ form ii ”. in addition , two other rarer forms , “ form iii ” and “ form iv ”, have also been identified . form i is the thermodynamically stable polymorph and is the form that results from recrystallisation in acetone , the procedure used in the manufacture of c1100 as described above . form ii results from recrystallisation in xylene - ipa . the xrpd profiles of polymorphs form i and form ii are displayed in fig1 and 5 , respectively . the identity of the polymorph in the drug substance is confirmed by xrpd analysis prior to use . some differences in relative intensities between the observed profile and the reference spectrum of fig1 may be observed : such differences are common with xrpd and may be due to variations in particle size , orientation of crystals in the instrument , and different instruments . fourier transform infrared ( ft - ir ) spectroscopy was performed using a bruker tensor 27 instrument fitted with a miracle pike atr ( attenuated total reflectance ) accessory . the ft - ir profile is shown in fig6 . this spectrum is consistent with the expected structure of c1100 . there are few peaks in the functional group region of the spectrum ( wavenumbers 1500 cm − 1 ). the peak at 3000 cm − 1 is likely to represent the aromatic c — h stretching vibration of the naphthalene and benzoxazole moieties . there is no evidence for hydroxyl groups in this region . peaks near 1550 and 1600 cm − 1 may represent aromatic c ═ c bond stretching and c ═ n stretching of the benzoxazole . the raman spectrum of c1100 is shown in fig7 , and is consistent with the expected structure . the strong peaks between 1500 and 1650 cm − 1 are indicative of substituted aromatic ring structures . the peak at about 1400 cm − 1 suggests an aromatic ether ( c — o — ch 2 ) stretch . similarly , the peak near 1300 cm − 1 indicates the presence of an aromatic secondary amine . elemental analysis of c1100 drug substance for c , h and n was performed using a combustion method . sulphur content was determined using ion - coupled plasma mass spectrometry ( icp - ms ). the elemental analysis results agree with expected values calculated from the molecular formula of c1100 ( c 19 h 15 no 3 s ), and thus provide evidence in support of the expected structure of the compound . 1expected mass percentages were calculated from the molecular formula of c1100 . 2oxygen content was not determined experimentally . oxygen percentages are calculated by subtraction of the values of the other elements from 100 %. c1100 is formulated as a white to off - white suspension for oral administration . the composition of the formulation is presented in the table below . the dose of c1100 to be administered will depend inter alia on subject body weight . the drug product can be diluted to provide the target dose concentration ( preferably about 20 to 100 mg / g ) using a dilution vehicle in which the proportion of each excipient in the dilution vehicle is the same as for the drug product , with additional water to compensate for the absence of drug substance . the process used to manufacture c1100 formulation is shown in the flow chart below : in brief , about 6 kg of water is added to a 15 l stainless steel vessel and a vigorous vortex and mixing pattern is created with an overhead stirrer and homogeniser . poloxamer 188 , methyl and propyl parabens and c1100 are added in sequence by spreading the powders on the surface of the water whilst mixing . the suspension mixture is then processed at high pressure through a stansted microfluidiser until the desired particle size is attained and collected in a suitable container . some of the remaining water is used to wash product off of the stainless steel vessel surfaces and through the microfluidiser . the remaining excipients are added , whilst mixing , in the order shown and the remaining water is added to bring the product to the final batch weight . the suspension is then added to a 50 l stainless steel bulk container and mixed overnight to fully hydrate the hpmc . the overhead stirrer is used to maintain the suspension and 150 ml amber glass bottles are filled with drug product ( 103 . 0 g ± 2 . 5 %). immediately after filling , each bottle is tightly sealed with a tamper - evident cap and the bottles are identification labelled , packed into cardboard boxes , and the boxes labelled . each box contains up to six bottles . the dilution vehicle is manufactured in a similar process , although in this process microfluidisation is not employed and 500 ml amber glass bottles are used as primary containers . a critical parameter is particle size . this is assured by employing an in - process check ( ipc ) between steps 6 and 7 of the flow chart above . a small ( 0 . 5 g ) ipc sample is withdrawn after each pass of microfluidisation and submitted to particle size analysis . if the target particle size specification ( d 10 & lt ; 0 . 4 μm ; d 50 & lt ; 0 . 6 μm ; d 90 & lt ; 1 . 8 μm ) is not achieved , microfluidisation ( step 6 ) is repeated until the specification is reached . a further ipc is made at the bottle filling stage ( step 14 ), in which every 25th bottle is individually tared , filled and re - weighed and the results plotted on a control chart to ensure that the fill - weight specification of 103 . 0 g ± 2 . 5 % ( i . e . 100 . 4 g to 105 . 6 g ) is being met . in the case of the dilution vehicle , an ipc is made on every 10th bottle and the specification is 506 . 0 g ± 1 . 0 % ( i . e . 500 . 9 g to 511 . 1 g ). c1100 drug product is evaluated for assay ( drug substance , methyl paraben and propyl paraben ) and related substances using an isocratic rp - hplc method with an ace c18 column ( 250 × 4 . 6 mm , 5 μm particle size ). the mobile phase is 65 % acetonitrile — 35 % water containing 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid ; column temperature is set at 40 ° c . the run time is 20 minutes and detection is by ultraviolet absorbance at 210 nm . samples are diluted in acetonitrile : water ( 50 : 50 ) prior to injection . under these conditions , the c1100 elutes at a retention time of ca . 9 minutes . assay values are determined by comparison of sample peak area to the peak areas of a reference material . samples are prepared with a nominal c1100 concentration of 200 μg / ml for assay of c1100 ; while for assay of parabens , higher concentration samples are prepared , with nominal concentrations of 30 μg / ml for methyl paraben and 3 μg / ml for propyl paraben . overall purity , as well as the levels of individual impurities , are determined as peak area percentages ( individual peak area divided by total peak area ), assuming that the response factors for individual impurities are the same as that for the main peak . the same hplc conditions are employed for analysis of dilution vehicle , except that assay is only required for the parabens . identity testing for c1100 drug product is performed using the same hplc method outlined in the previous section . the retention time of the main peak is compared with that of the reference material main peak . the specification for identity is a relative retention time of 0 . 95 to 1 . 05 relative to that of the reference material . in the case of dilution vehicle , identity testing is performed to confirm absence of drug substance ; the specification is any peak at the retention time of drug substance reference material must have an area less than or equal to the loq ( 1 μg / ml ). determination of particle size distribution is performed by laser light diffraction using a malvern mastersizermicroplus particle size analyser . a solution of 1 % w / v pluronic f68 in water is used as dispersant , and a minimum of three measurements is made for each sample . tests for total aerobic microbial counts ( tamc ), total yeasts and moulds count ( tymc ), and for specific microorganisms ( e . coli ) are standard pharmacopeia methods . the table below summarizes the pharmacokinetics of two formulations of c1100 after administration to the mouse . formulation a ( invention ) is a nanoparticulate formulation according to the present invention in which the c1100 particles have a d 50 particle size of 0 . 5 μm and a d 90 particle size less than 1 . 1 μm . formulation b is an otherwise similar suspension of c1100 having a larger particle size ( d 50 particle size of 2 . 96 μm and a d 90 particle size of 7 . 36 μm ). it can be seen that the bioavailability of c1100 after administration of nanoparticulate formulation a is better than that achieved after administration of the micronized formulation : both the auc ( 0 - 24h ) and c max are significantly higher . formulation a ( invention ) as described in example 6 ( above ) exhibits a stable particle size distribution ( fig8 a ) as compared to a micronized formulation having a larger particle size . the c1100 particles do not sediment on standing over 3 days , and no particle agglomeration ( leading to an increase in particle size ) was observed . in contrast , the particle size of the micronized formulation increased with time ( fig8 b ) and the c1100 particles sedimented on standing . this formulation exhibiting less caking than the formulation of example 3 on storage : the suspension remained continuously dispersed on standing . formulations with 0 . 25 - 0 . 5 % xanthan gum are less viscous , and may be advantageous when pour ability of the formulation is important . the foregoing description details presently preferred embodiments of the present invention . numerous modifications and variations in practice thereof are expected to occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of these descriptions . those modifications and variations are intended to be encompassed within the claims appended hereto .
this invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising 5 -- 2 - benzooxazole , to processes for preparing the compositions , and to various therapeutic uses of the combinations . also provided is a method of treatment of duchenne muscular dystrophy or becker muscular dystrophy using the compositions .