Wm Wrigley Jr Company

Thomas M Tongue, Jr

Ronald L Ream

Christine L Corriveau

Michael J Greenberg

William J Wokas

Robert J Yatka

Joo H Song

Mansukh M Patel

Michael A Reed

David W Record

Gordon N McGrew

Donald J Townsend

Philip G Schnell

David G Barkalow

Henry T Tyrpin

Steven E Zibell

David L Witkewitz

Sonya S Johnson

Jeffrey S Hook

James Roy Maxwell

Daniel J Zyck

Michael P Russell

Victor V Gudas

Daniel J Sitler

Donald Arthur Seielstad

Rebecca Ann Aumann

Jack D Nimz

Methods and chewing gums for delivering a medicament or agent to an individual are provided. The chewing gum includes a medicament or agent. The medicament or agent is present within the chewing gum composition (the water soluble portion and/or insoluble base portion). It has been found that by chewing the gum, the medicament or agent is released from the chewing gum. Continuing to chew the chewing gum creates a pressure within the buccal cavity forcing the agent or medicament directly into the systemic system of the individual through the oral mucosa contained in the buccal cavity. This greatly enhances the absorption of the drug into the systemic system as well as the bioavailability of the drug within the system.

Pharmaceutical chewing gum formulations

A method for producing a chewing gum with a controlled release active agent, as well as the chewing gum so produced, is obtained by physically modifying the release properties of the active agent, such as a nutraceutical or nutritional supplement, by coating and drying. The active agent is coated by encapsulation, partially coated by agglomeration, entrapped by absorption, or treated by multiple steps of encapsulation, agglomeration, and absorption. The coated active agent is preferably then co-dried and particle sized to produce a release-modified active agent for use in chewing gum. The active agent may also be used in a coating on a chewing gum product, as part of a rolling compound applied to the chewing gum product, or as a part of the liquid in a liquid-center chewing gum product.

Nutraceuticals or nutritional supplements and method of making

The present invention provides an improved chewing gum composition that includes caffeine. The chewing gum composition includes a specific particle size distribution for the caffeine such that the perceived bitterness of traditional caffeine gums is reduced. Additionally, the present invention provides methods of mixing a caffeine chewing gum composition that likewise reduces bitterness by selecting specific processing times and sequences for the mixing of the various ingredients.

Caffeine chewing gum

Growing community of inventors

Joliet, IL, United States of America

Thomas M Tongue, Jr