The Evolution of quality by design (QbD) for biologics.

In recent years, regulators have recognized the need for more controls in drug manufacturing processes. Quality by design is a science- and risk-based approach to drug product development and several pilot programs are ongoing to evaluate enhanced drug development strategies. This article provides a commentary on a recent regulatory publication on the subject of design space verification.

Purification of tubulin from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is an attractive source of tubulin for biochemical experiments as it contains few tubulin isoforms and is amenable to genetic manipulation. We describe the preparation of milligram quantities of highly purified native tubulin from S. pombe suitable for use in microtubule dynamics assays as well as structural and other biochemical studies. S. pombe cells are grown in bulk in a fermenter and then lysed using a bead mill. The soluble protein fraction is bound to anion-exchange chromatography resin by batch binding, packed in a -chromatography column and eluted by a salt gradient. The tubulin-containing fraction is ammonium sulphate precipitated to further concentrate and purify the protein. A round of high-resolution anion-exchange chromatography is carried out before a cycle of polymerisation and depolymerisation to select functional tubulin. Gel filtration is used to remove residual contaminants before a final desalting step. The purified tubulin is concentrated, and then frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen.

Biopharmaceutical production: Applications of surface plasmon resonance biosensors.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) permits the quantitative analysis of therapeutic antibody concentrations and impurities including bacteria, Protein A, Protein G and small molecule ligands leached from chromatography media. The use of surface plasmon resonance has gained popularity within the biopharmaceutical industry due to the automated, label free, real time interaction that may be exploited when using this method. The application areas to assess protein interactions and develop analytical methods for biopharmaceutical downstream process development, quality control, and in-process monitoring are reviewed.

Global Sensitivity Analysis for the determination of parameter importance in bio-manufacturing processes.

The present paper describes the application of GSA (Global Sensitivity Analysis) techniques to mathematical models of bioprocesses in order to rank inputs such as feed titres, flow rates and matrix capacities for the relative influence that each exerts upon outputs such as yield or throughput. GSA enables quantification of both the impact of individual variables on process outputs, as well as their interactions. These data highlight those attributes of a bioprocess which offer the greatest potential for achieving manufacturing improvements. Whereas previous GSA studies have been limited to individual unit operations, this paper extends the treatment to an entire downstream process and illustrates its utility by application to the production of a Fab-based rattlesnake antivenom called CroFab [(Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine); Protherics U.K. Limited]. Initially, hyperimmunized ovine serum containing rattlesnake antivenom IgG (product), other antibodies and albumin is applied to a synthetic affinity ligand adsorbent column to separate the antibodies from the albumin. The antibodies are papain-digested into Fab and Fc fragments, before concentration by ultrafiltration. Fc, residual IgG and albumin are eliminated by an ion-exchanger and then CroFab-specific affinity chromatography is used to produce purified antivenom. Application of GSA to the model of this process showed that product yield was controlled by IgG feed concentration and the synthetic-material affinity column's capacity and flow rate, whereas product throughput was predominantly influenced by the synthetic material's capacity, the ultrafiltration concentration factor and the CroFab affinity flow rate. Such information provides a rational basis for identifying the most promising strategies for delivering improvements to commercial-scale biomanufacturing processes.

Evaluation of a novel agarose-based synthetic ligand adsorbent for the recovery of antibodies from ovine serum.

This paper evaluates a prototype agarose-based affinity adsorbent utilizing a bound synthetic ligand designed to replace Protein A as an IgG-affinity capture resin and compares its purification characteristics with four commercially available matrices for the recovery of polyclonal antibodies from crude hyperimmune ovine serum. The novel adsorbent was found to show the highest dynamic capacity (29.2 mg/mL) of all matrices under evaluation--30% higher than the other commercial adsorbents evaluated. When using a post-load caprylic acid wash, IgG yields of over 85% and purities of over 90% were achieved consistently over multiple loading cycles. To evaluate bead diffusion, inverted confocal microscopy was used to visualise fluorescent antibody binding on to individual adsorbent beads in real time. The results indicate that the binding characteristics of the prototype adsorbent are similar to those obtained with Protein G Sepharose. This study indicates that the high-capacity prototype matrix is a feasible and potentially cost-effective alternative for the direct capture of antibodies from crude ovine serum and may therefore also be applicable to the purification of other complex industrial feedstocks such as transgenic milk or monoclonal antibodies expressed using recombinant technologies.

A prototype software methodology for the rapid evaluation of biomanufacturing process options.

A three-layered simulation methodology is described that rapidly evaluates biomanufacturing process options. In each layer, inferior options are screened out, while more promising candidates are evaluated further in the subsequent, more refined layer, which uses more rigorous models that require more data from time-consuming experimentation. Screening ensures laboratory studies are focused only on options showing the greatest potential. To simplify the screening, outputs of production level, cost and time are combined into a single value using multi-attribute-decision-making techniques. The methodology was illustrated by evaluating alternatives to an FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)-approved process manufacturing rattlesnake antivenom. Currently, antivenom antibodies are recovered from ovine serum by precipitation/centrifugation and proteolyzed before chromatographic purification. Alternatives included increasing the feed volume, replacing centrifugation with microfiltration and replacing precipitation/centrifugation with a Protein G column. The best alternative used a higher feed volume and a Protein G step. By rapidly evaluating the attractiveness of options, the methodology facilitates efficient and cost-effective process development.

Purification of antibodies using the synthetic affinity ligand absorbent MAbsorbent A2P.

A protocol for the purification of polyclonal antibodies from ovine serum using the synthetic protein A absorbent MAbsorbent A2P is described. Clarified serum is loaded directly onto the affinity column without prior adjustment and albumin and unwanted serum components are washed from the column using a sodium octanoate buffer before elution of bound antibodies. MAbsorbent A2P was shown to bind approximately 27 mg ml(-1) of polyclonal immunoglobulin under overloading conditions, with eluted IgG purities of >90% and minor levels of albumin (approximately 1%). The anticipated time required to complete the purification protocol is 6-7 h. Although the protocol is similar to methods utilized for antibody purification using chromatography with protein A derived from the cell wall of the microorganism Staphylococcus aureus or protein G from Streptococcus as the affinity ligands, affinity absorbents based on synthetic ligands offer a number of advantages to compounds derived from biological sources, in particular robustness, relatively low cost, ease of sanitization and, in principle, lack of biological contamination.

Decision-support software for the industrial-scale chromatographic purification of antibodies.

The high therapeutic and financial value offered by polyclonal antibodies and their fragments has prompted extensive commercialization for the treatment of a wide range of acute clinical indications. Large-scale manufacture typically includes antibody-specific chromatography steps that employ custom-made affinity matrices to separate product-specific IgG from the remainder of the contaminating antibody repertoire. The high cost of such matrices necessitates efficient process design in order to maximize their economic potential. Techniques that identify the most suitable operating conditions for achieving desired levels of manufacturing performance are therefore of significant utility. This paper describes the development of a computer model that incorporates the effects of capacity changes over consecutive chromatographic operational cycles in order to identify combinations of protein load and loading flowrate that satisfy preset constraints of product yield and throughput. The method is illustrated by application to the manufacture of DigiFab, an FDA-approved polyclonal antibody fragment purified from ovine serum, which is used to treat digoxin toxicity (Protherics U.K. Limited). The model was populated with data obtained from scale-down experimental studies of the commercial-scale affinity purification step, which correlated measured changes in matrix capacity with the total protein load and number of resin re-uses. To enable a tradeoff between yield and throughput, output values were integrated together into a single metric by multi-attribute decision-making techniques to identify the most suitable flowrate and feed concentration required for achieving target levels of DigiFab yield and throughput. Results indicated that reducing the flowrate by 70% (from the current level) and using a protein load at the midpoint of the range currently employed at production scale (approximately 200-500 g/L) would provide the most satisfactory tradeoff between yield and throughput.

Detection and quantification of affinity ligand leaching and specific antibody fragment concentration within chromatographic fractions using surface plasmon resonance.

Rapid analyses of chromatographic steps within a biopharmaceutical manufacturing process are often desirable to evaluate column performance, provide mass balance data and to permit accurate calculations of yields and recoveries. Using SPR (surface plasmon resonance) biosensor (Biacore) technology, we have developed a sandwich immunoassay to quantify polyclonal anti-digoxin Fab fragments used for the production of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)-approved biotherapeutic DigiFab. The results show that specific Fab may be quantified in all affinity process streams and accurate yield and mass balance data calculated. Control experiments using sheep Fab and Fc indicate that the assay is specific to DigiFab. The quantification of potential leached ligand within chromatographic fractions may also be technically challenging, particularly when low-molecular-mass ligands are covalently coupled with an affinity absorbent. Typical methods to assess ligand leakage such as DDMA (digoxin-dicarboxymethoxylamine; digoxin analogue) often involve the use of labelled ligands and relatively complex and labour-intensive analytical techniques. Using the same analytical methodologies, an assay to detect leached or eluted ligand off the column was developed. The results indicate minimal levels of leached ligand in all chromatographic fractions, with total levels of leached DDMA calculated to be 1.52 microg. This is less than 0.01% of the total amount of DDMA coupled with the laboratory-scale affinity column. The SPR methods described in the present study may be applicable for the rapid in-process analysis of specific polyclonal Fab fragments (within a polyclonal mixture) and to rapidly assess leakage of small molecule ligands covalently attached to chromatographic supports.

Antibody production: polyclonal-derived biotherapeutics.

Antibody based therapies using monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies are emerging as an important therapeutic approach for the treatment of a number of diseases. With increasing emphasis on new technologies associated with monoclonal antibody expression and purification, the clinical need of polyclonal therapeutics for treatment of a variety of specific illnesses and infections is often overlooked. Despite being largely abandoned in the early twentieth century due to the development of antibiotics, polyclonal antibody therapeutics are today widely used in medicine for viral and toxin neutralization and for replacement therapy in patients with immunoglobulin deficiencies. Over the past 20 years, intravenous immunoglobulins have shown beneficial immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects in many illnesses. Hyperimmune antibody preparations have been used over the past century for the treatment of a variety of infectious agents and medical emergencies, including digoxin toxicity, snake envenomation and spider bites. Here, we examine the contemporary techniques and applications, and assess the future therapeutic potential, for polyclonal-derived antibody therapeutics.

Characterisation of an industrial affinity process used in the manufacturing of digoxin-specific polyclonal Fab fragments.

This paper describes the effect of several variables on the affinity process for the production of the FDA approved biotherapeutic product Digoxin Immune Fab (Ovine) (DigiFab, Protherics Inc., TN, USA). The study considers the effects of column re-use on matrix capacity and on the subsequent recovery of the antibody product, and the impact of varying column loading on matrix performance. The methodology used could be equally applied to assess the feasibility of using an affinity matrix for commercial scale purification of alternative antibody derived biotherapeutics. The capacity and specific Fab recovery were calculated through 24h equilibrium and mass balance studies. Results were assessed against data obtained through confocal scanning laser microscopy. Scale-down experiments produced specific Fab recoveries and purities that were comparable with those at production scale. The matrix capacity was found to be 45+/-15 mg of Fab/ml of matrix. Through the use of fluorescent DigiFab and confocal scanning techniques, Fab uptake onto single affinity bead was evaluated. Average intensity values calculated for each sample provided direct real-time, measure of Fab binding and matrix capacity. The results suggest that the affinity matrix had a limited reuse life as a drop in recovery is observed following the completion of a small number of process cycles (30% after three runs). The findings support that which is seen at the current manufacturing scale, where the affinity column is used for a limited number of runs. Results from this study can be used as a basis for future optimisation of this purification process.

The integrated simulation and assessment of the impacts of process change in biotherapeutic antibody production.

Growing commercial pressures in the pharmaceutical industry are establishing a need for robust computer simulations of whole bioprocesses to allow rapid prediction of the effects of changes made to manufacturing operations. This paper presents an integrated process simulation that models the cGMP manufacture of the FDA-approved biotherapeutic CroFab, an IgG fragment used to treat rattlesnake envenomation (Protherics U.K. Limited, Blaenwaun, Ffostrasol, Llandysul, Wales, U.K.). Initially, the product is isolated from ovine serum by precipitation and centrifugation, before enzymatic digestion of the IgG to produce FAB and FC fragments. These are purified by ion exchange and affinity chromatography to remove the FC and non-specific FAB fragments from the final venom-specific FAB product. The model was constructed in a discrete event simulation environment and used to determine the potential impact of a series of changes to the process, such as increasing the step efficiencies or volumes of chromatographic matrices, upon product yields and process times. The study indicated that the overall FAB yield was particularly sensitive to changes in the digestive and affinity chromatographic step efficiencies, which have a predicted 30% greater impact on process FAB yield than do the precipitation or centrifugation stages. The study showed that increasing the volume of affinity matrix has a negligible impact upon total process time. Although results such as these would require experimental verification within the physical constraints of the process and the facility, the model predictions are still useful in allowing rapid "what-if" scenario analysis of the likely impacts of process changes within such an integrated production process.

Optimal conditions for the papain digestion of polyclonal ovine IgG for the production of bio-therapeutic Fab fragments.

In the present paper, we describe a rapid method for the determination of optimum conditions for papain digestion of polyclonal ovine IgG (purified by Na(2)SO(4) precipitation) for the production of bio-therapeutic Fabs (antigen-binding fragments). To determine the optimum conditions for digestion, a factorial approach to the design of experiments was undertaken. The resulting experimental data were used to construct the mathematical models using Design Expert 6.06(R) (Stat-Ease, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.) to predict the optimum conditions for a robust IgG digestion step. Optimum conditions were evaluated experimentally, and the applicability of the conditions for large-scale manufacture of bio-therapeutic Fab fragments was assessed. The results and methods described in the present paper suggest that, provided the time and temperature are maintained at the high settings evaluated (24 h, 40 degrees C), the modelled data predict IgG digestion close to 100% for all the papain concentrations used. Provided papain is used at >2.5% (w/w), either time and/or temperature may be reduced. The results and methods described in the present paper may also be applicable to the generation of therapeutic Fab fragments from other immunoglobulins, including monoclonal antibodies purified from mammalian cell culture.

Optimised affinity purification of polyclonal antibodies from hyper immunised ovine serum using a synthetic Protein A adsorbent, MAbsorbent A2P.

This report describes the applicability of a synthetic chromatography adsorbent for large-scale purification of polyclonal immunoglobulin G from hyper immunised ovine serum. Under optimised conditions, MAbsorbent A2P was shown to bind approximately 27 mg mL(-1) of ovine immunoglobulin from undiluted serum, with eluted IgG purities of >95%, minor levels of albumin (approximately 1%) and undetectable levels of leached ligand in the purified preparations. The results presented here indicate that the optimised affinity capture of immunoglobulin from ovine serum using MAbsorbent A2P is a feasible alternative to Protein A chromatography or sodium sulphate precipitation for the initial capture of antibodies from undiluted serum.