Pharmacokinetic Profiles of a Proposed Biosimilar Ustekinumab (BFI-751): Results From a Randomized Phase 1 Trial.

BioFactura has developed a proposed biosimilar candidate (BFI-751) to ustekinumab reference product. Results are reported for the first-in-human trial designed to compare the pharmacokinetic profiles, safety, and immunogenicity of BFI-751 and ustekinumab reference products from the European Union and United States as well as similarity of the EU and US reference products. This was a multicenter, randomized, double blind, 3-parallel-group study (trial ID: NCT04843631). Healthy subjects were randomized to receive a single subcutaneous dose of 45 mg of BFI-751, EU ustekinumab, or US ustekinumab. The pharmacokinetic parameters were area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) from time zero to infinity, AUC from time zero to the last quantifiable concentration, and maximum concentration. Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity data were also reported. Pairwise comparisons among the 3 treatments all met the standard bioequivalence criteria that the 90% confidence interval of the geometric mean ratios of AUC from time zero to infinity, AUC from time zero to the last quantifiable concentration, and maximum concentration are completely within the acceptance interval of 80%-125%. There were no marked differences in the safety and tolerability profiles for subjects receiving BFI-751 as compared to EU or US ustekinumab. Treatment-emergent adverse events were mild to moderate for all treatment groups.

Monoclonal Antibody Sequence Variants Disguised as Fragments: Identification, Characterization, and Their Removal by Purification Process Optimization.

During early stage development of a therapeutic IgG1 monoclonal antibody, high levels of low molecular weight (LMW) peaks were observed by high performance size-exclusion chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. Further characterization of the LMW peak enriched HPSEC fractions using reversed phase liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry showed these LMW species were 47 kDa and 50 kDa in size. However, the measured masses could not be matched to any fragments resulting from peptide bond hydrolysis. To identify these unknown LMW species, molecular characterization methods were employed, including high-throughput sequencing of RNA. Transcriptomic analysis revealed the LMW species were generated by mis-splicing events in the heavy chain transcript, which produced truncated heavy chain products that assembled with the light chain to mimic the appearance of fragments identified by routine purity assays. In an effort to improve product quality, an optimized purification process was developed. Characterization of the process intermediates confirmed removal of both LMW species by the optimized process. Our study demonstrates that deep-dive analytical characterization of biotherapeutics is critical to ensure product quality and inform process development. Transcriptomic analysis tools can help identify the cause of unknown species, and plays a key role in product and process characterization.

Optimization of a platform process operating space for a monoclonal antibody susceptible to reversible and irreversible aggregation using a solution stability screening approach.

Platform manufacturing processes are widely adopted to simplify and standardize the development and manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). However, there are mAbs that do not conform to a platform design due to instability or other protein properties leading to a negative impact on product quality or process performance (non-platform mAb). Non-platform mAbs typically require prolonged development times and significant deviations from the platform process to address these issues due to the need to sequentially optimize individual process steps. In this study, we describe an IgG2 mAb (mAb A) that is susceptible to aggregation and reversible self-association (RSA) under platform conditions. In lieu of a sequential optimization approach, we evaluated the solution stability of mAb A across the platform operating space (solution stability screen). This screening design was used to identify interacting parameters that affected the non-platform mAb stability. A subsequent response surface design was found to predict an acceptable operating space that minimized aggregate formation and RSA across the entire process. This information guided the selection of optimal parameters best suited to avoid destabilizing conditions for each process step. Substantial time savings was achieved by focusing development around these factors including protein concentration, buffer pH, salt concentration, and excipient type. In addition, this work enabled the optimization of a cation exchange chromatography step that removed aggregate without yield losses due to the presence of reversible aggregation. The final optimized process derived from this study resulted in an increase in yield of ˜30% over the original process while maintaining the same level of aggregate clearance to match product quality. Solution stability screening is readily adapted to high throughput technologies to minimize material requirements and accelerate analytical data availability. Implementation of high throughput approaches will further expedite process development and enable enhanced selection of candidate drugs by including process development objectives.

Effects of salt-induced reversible self-association on the elution behavior of a monoclonal antibody in cation exchange chromatography.

Some monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are reported to display concentration-dependent reversible self-association (RSA). There are multiple studies that investigate the effect of RSA on product characteristics such as viscosity, opalescence, phase separation and aggregation. This work investigates the effects of RSA on a bind-and-elute mode cation exchange chromatography (CEX) unit operation. We report a case study in which the RSA of an IgG2 (mAb X) resulted in significant peak splitting during salt gradient elution in CEX. Multiple factors including resin type, load challenge, residence time and gradient slope were evaluated and demonstrated little effect on the peak splitting of mAb X. It was determined that high NaCl concentrations in combination with high protein concentrations induced mAb X to form one RSA species that binds more strongly to the column, resulting in a large second elution peak. The finding of NaCl-induced RSA suggested that lower NaCl elution concentrations and different types of salts could mitigate RSA and thus eliminate peak splitting. Different salts were tested, showing that chaotropic salts such as CaCl2 reduced the second elution peak by inducing less RSA. The addition of a positively charged amino acid (such as 50mM histidine) into the CEX elution buffer resulted in elution at lower NaCl concentrations and also effectively reduced peak splitting. However, experiments that were intended to reduce salt concentration by increasing the elution buffer pH did not significantly mitigate peak splitting. This is because higher pH conditions also increase RSA. This work identifies salt-induced RSA as the cause of peak splitting of a mAb in CEX and also provides solutions to reduce the phenomenon.