EP1196236B1 — Spray drying process and system for preparing dry powders

USPTO Abstract

The present invention provides exemplary systems and methods for producing dry powder formulations. In one embodiment, a system (10) includes at least one conditioning zone (12) having an inlet (20) to introduce an atomized formulation (18) into the conditioning zone. A controller (14, 16) controls temperature and relative humidity of the airflow into the conditioning zone to allow amorphous-to-crystalline transformation of the atomized formulation. In another embodiment, the formulation is suspended in the conditioning zone for a residence time of sufficient duration to allow surface orientation of surface active components. A dryer (24) is coupled to the conditioning zone to dry the atomized formulation, and a collector (28) collects the formulation in powder form.