Comprehensive study of the drug delivery properties of poly(l-lactide)-poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles in rats and tumor-bearing mice.

Nanoparticles made of polylactide-poly(ethylene glycol) block-copolymer (PLA-PEG) are promising vehicles for drug delivery due to their biodegradability and controllable payload release. However, published data on the drug delivery properties of PLA-PEG nanoparticles are heterogeneous in terms of nanoparticle characteristics and mostly refer to low injected doses (a few mg nanoparticles per kg body weight). We have performed a comprehensive study of the biodistribution of nanoparticle formulations based on PLA-PEG nanoparticles of ~100nm size at injected doses of 30 to 140mg/kg body weight in healthy rats and nude tumor-bearing mice. Nanoparticle formulations differed by surface PEG coverage and by release kinetics of the encapsulated model active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). Increase in PEG coverage prolonged nanoparticle circulation half-life up to ~20h in rats and ~10h in mice and decreased retention in liver, spleen and lungs. Circulation half-life of the encapsulated API grew monotonously as the release rate slowed down. Plasma and tissue pharmacokinetics was dose-linear for inactive nanoparticles, but markedly dose-dependent for the model therapeutic formulation, presumably because of the toxic effects of released API. A mathematical model of API distribution calibrated on the data for inactive nanoparticles and conventional API form correctly predicted the distribution of the model therapeutic formulation at the lowest investigated dose, but for higher doses the toxic action of the released API had to be explicitly modelled. Our results provide a coherent illustration of the ability of controllable-release PLA-PEG nanoparticles to serve as an effective drug delivery platform to alter API biodistribution. They also underscore the importance of physiological effects of released drug in determining the biodistribution of therapeutic drug formulations at doses approaching tolerability limits.

A Quality by Design Approach to Developing and Manufacturing Polymeric Nanoparticle Drug Products.

The translation of nanomedicines from concepts to commercial products has not reached its full potential, in part because of the technical and regulatory challenges associated with chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) development of such complex products. It is critical to take a quality by design (QbD) approach to developing nanomedicines-using a risk-based approach to identifying and classifying product attributes and process parameters and ultimately developing a deep understanding of the products, processes, and platform. This article exemplifies a QbD approach used by BIND Therapeutics, Inc., to industrialize a polymeric targeted nanoparticle drug delivery platform. The focus of the approach is on CMC affairs but consideration is also given to preclinical, clinical, and regulatory aspects of pharmaceutical development. Processes are described for developing a quality target product profile and designing supporting preclinical studies, defining critical quality attributes and process parameters, building a process knowledge map, and employing QbD to support outsourced manufacturing.

A novel in situ hydrophobic ion paring (HIP) formulation strategy for clinical product selection of a nanoparticle drug delivery system.

The present studies were aimed at formulating AZD2811-loaded polylactic acid-polyethylene glycol (PLA-PEG) nanoparticles with adjustable release rates without altering the chemical structures of the polymer or active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). This was accomplished through the use of a hydrophobic ion pairing approach. A series of AZD2811-containing nanoparticles with a variety of hydrophobic counterions including oleic acid, 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, cholic acid, deoxycholic acid, dioctylsulfosuccinic acid, and pamoic acid is described. The hydrophobicity of AZD2811 was increased through formation of ion pairs with these hydrophobic counterions, producing nanoparticles with exceptionally high drug loading-up to five fold higher encapsulation efficiency and drug loading compared to nanoparticles made without hydrophobic ion pairs. Furthermore, the rate at which the drug was released from the nanoparticles could be controlled by employing counterions with various hydrophobicities and structures, resulting in release half-lives ranging from about 2 to 120h using the same polymer, nanoparticle size, and nanoemulsion process. Process recipe variables affecting drug load and release rate were identified, including pH and molarity of quench buffer. Ion pair formation between AZD2811 and pamoic acid as a model counterion was investigated using solubility enhancement as well as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to demonstrate solution-state interactions. Further evidence for an ion pairing mechanism of controlled release was provided through the measurement of API and counterion release profiles using high-performance liquid chromatography, which had stoichiometric relationships. Finally, Raman spectra of an AZD2811-pamoate salt compared well with those of the formulated nanoparticles, while single components (AZD2811, pamoic acid) alone did not. A library of AZD2811 batches was created for analytical and preclinical characterization. Dramatically improved preclinical efficacy and tolerability data were generated for the pamoic acid lead formulation, which has been selected for evaluation in a Phase 1 clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT 02579226). This work clearly demonstrates the importance of assessing a wide range of drug release rates during formulation screening as a critical step for new drug product development, and how utilizing hydrophobic ion pairing enabled this promising nanoparticle formulation to proceed into clinical development.

Aurora kinase inhibitor nanoparticles target tumors with favorable therapeutic index in vivo.

Efforts to apply nanotechnology in cancer have focused almost exclusively on the delivery of cytotoxic drugs to improve therapeutic index. There has been little consideration of molecularly targeted agents, in particular kinase inhibitors, which can also present considerable therapeutic index limitations. We describe the development of Accurin polymeric nanoparticles that encapsulate the clinical candidate AZD2811, an Aurora B kinase inhibitor, using an ion pairing approach. Accurins increase biodistribution to tumor sites and provide extended release of encapsulated drug payloads. AZD2811 nanoparticles containing pharmaceutically acceptable organic acids as ion pairing agents displayed continuous drug release for more than 1 week in vitro and a corresponding extended pharmacodynamic reduction of tumor phosphorylated histone H3 levels in vivo for up to 96 hours after a single administration. A specific AZD2811 nanoparticle formulation profile showed accumulation and retention in tumors with minimal impact on bone marrow pathology, and resulted in lower toxicity and increased efficacy in multiple tumor models at half the dose intensity of AZD1152, a water-soluble prodrug of AZD2811. These studies demonstrate that AZD2811 can be formulated in nanoparticles using ion pairing agents to give improved efficacy and tolerability in preclinical models with less frequent dosing. Accurins specifically, and nanotechnology in general, can increase the therapeutic index of molecularly targeted agents, including kinase inhibitors targeting cell cycle and oncogenic signal transduction pathways, which have to date proved toxic in humans.

Preclinical development and clinical translation of a PSMA-targeted docetaxel nanoparticle with a differentiated pharmacological profile.

We describe the development and clinical translation of a targeted polymeric nanoparticle (TNP) containing the chemotherapeutic docetaxel (DTXL) for the treatment of patients with solid tumors. DTXL-TNP is targeted to prostate-specific membrane antigen, a clinically validated tumor antigen expressed on prostate cancer cells and on the neovasculature of most nonprostate solid tumors. DTXL-TNP was developed from a combinatorial library of more than 100 TNP formulations varying with respect to particle size, targeting ligand density, surface hydrophilicity, drug loading, and drug release properties. Pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies in rats showed that the NPs had a blood circulation half-life of about 20 hours and minimal liver accumulation. In tumor-bearing mice, DTXL-TNP exhibited markedly enhanced tumor accumulation at 12 hours and prolonged tumor growth suppression compared to a solvent-based DTXL formulation (sb-DTXL). In tumor-bearing mice, rats, and nonhuman primates, DTXL-TNP displayed pharmacokinetic characteristics consistent with prolonged circulation of NPs in the vascular compartment and controlled release of DTXL, with total DTXL plasma concentrations remaining at least 100-fold higher than sb-DTXL for more than 24 hours. Finally, initial clinical data in patients with advanced solid tumors indicated that DTXL-TNP displays a pharmacological profile differentiated from sb-DTXL, including pharmacokinetics characteristics consistent with preclinical data and cases of tumor shrinkage at doses below the sb-DTXL dose typically used in the clinic.

Polilactofate microspheres for Paclitaxel delivery to central nervous system malignancies.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that surgically implanted, controlled-release, biodegradable polilactofate microspheres (Paclimer) can be used safely to bypass the blood-brain barrier and deliver paclitaxel to malignant brain tumors. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The rate of paclitaxel release from Paclimer microspheres submerged in PBS was measured in vitro by high-performance liquid chromatography. In vivo studies of Paclimer were performed as intracranial implants in Fischer 344 rats in the presence or absence of 9L gliosarcoma. Mantel-Cox statistics were used to assess the efficacy of Paclimer at extending survival of tumor-bearing animals compared with control implants. Paclimer implants tagged with [(3)H]paclitaxel were used to measure biodistribution of paclitaxel from the Paclimer implant. RESULTS: Paclimer released paclitaxel at a constant rate for up to 3 months in vitro. In vivo, Paclimer implants placed intracranially in rats released active drug for up to 30 days after implantation and doubled the median survival of rats bearing established 9L gliosarcomas (median survival of paclitaxel-treated animals = 35 days; median survival of control-treated animal = 16 days; P < 0.0001). Active drug was distributed throughout the rat brain based on liquid scintillation counting and TLC. Rats implanted with Paclimer demonstrated no overt signs of neurotoxicity and exhibited local cytopathological changes consistent with exposure to an antimicrotubule agent. CONCLUSIONS: Paclimer extends survival in a rodent model of glioma with minimal morbidity and optimal pharmacokinetics.