The present invention relates broadly to the field of sustained release formulations. More specifically, the invention describes compositions and methods relating to formulating proteins and/or peptides with purified gallic acid esters. In one example, the gallic acid ester is PentaGalloylGlucose (PGG) and in anther example the gallic acid ester is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).

The present invention provides cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) inhibitors and enhancers. Examples of the CYP3A inhibitors include free bases or pharmacologically acceptable salts of at least one of the following compounds: .alpha.-naphthoflavone, .beta.-naphthoflavone, apigenin, baicalein, .beta.-myrcene, catechin, 3-phenylpropyl acetate, formononetin, gallic acid, hesperetin, hesperidin, isoquercitrin, lauryl alcohol, luteolin, luteolin-7-glycoside, narigin, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, quercitrin, swertiamarin, terpineol, and trans-cinnamaldehyde. Examples of the CYP3A enhancers include free bases or pharmacologically acceptable salts of at least one of the following compounds: apigenin, formononetin, and luteolin-7-glycoside. The CYP3A inhibitors can be used, alone or co-administered with a drug, to improve the drug bioavailability. The CYP3A inhibitors can also be used as chemopreventors to prevent biotransformation of procarcinogenic compounds into carcinogens via CYP3A activity or for treatment of intestinal or hepatic cancer by inhibit the CYP3A activity. The CYP3A enhancers can be used to improve the enzymatic activity of CYP3A so as to improve the biotransformation and degradation of active drugs or the sustrates of CYP3A from the body. The CYP3A inhibitors and enhancers of the present invention are natural substances extracted from herbs and non-toxic.

The present invention is directed towards novel cyclic phosph(oramid)ate prodrugs of alcohol-, amine-, and thiol-containing drugs, their preparation, their synthetic intermediates, and their uses. Another aspect of the invention is the use of the prodrugs to treat diseases that benefit from enhanced drug distribution to the liver and like tissues and cells that express cytochrome P450, including hepatitis, cancer, liver fibrosis, malaria, other viral and parasitic infections, and metabolic diseases where the liver is responsible for the overproduction of the biochemical end product, e.g. glucose (diabetes); cholesterol, fatty acids and triglycerides (hyperlipidemia) (atherosclerosis) (obesity). In one aspect, the invention is directed towards the use of the prodrugs to enhance oral drug delivery. In another aspect, the prodrugs are used to prolong pharmacodynamic half-life of the drug. In addition, the prodrug methodology of the current invention is used to achieve sustained delivery of the parent drug. In another aspect, the prodrugs are used to increase the therapeutic index of the drug. In another aspect of the invention, a method of making these prodrugs is described. In another aspect, the prodrugs are also useful in the delivery of diagnostic imaging agents to the liver.

Prodrugs of formula I, their uses, their intermediates, and their method of manufacture are described: ##STR00001## and pharmaceutically acceptable prodrugs and salts thereof.

Methods for the synthesis of cyclic phosphonic acid diesters from 1,3-diols are described, whereby cyclic phosphonic acid diesters are produced by reacting a chiral 1,3-diol and an activated phosphonic acid in the presence of a Lewis acid.