A method classifying biologics for formulary decision making

Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees have been trying to determine the correct way to incorporate biologic agents into their formularies. As with any new drug, the first step is to determine the appropriate category or classification in which they will be evaluated. The biologics present some challenges to classification in significant ways. Even though two or more biologics may have a common indication, their differences in mechanism of action, method of delivery, dosing schedule, and other factors may be important considerations in choice of a useful classification. A method is suggested and illustrated, utilizing the group of biologic agents commonly used to treat psoriasis (including, for illustrative purposes, alefacept, efalizumab, etanercept, and infliximab).

Antimitotic Agents of Natural Origin

Antimitotic agents have been the most successful pharmacological agents for the treatment of cancer. The term "antimitotic agent" has traditionally been synonymous with tubulin-targeting compounds, but as a consequence of the large number of new compounds and mechanisms that have been identified recently, a much broader definition is currently needed. This review attempts to provide a broad overview of compounds and their cognate protein targets which result in a block in mitosis. Focus has been placed on agents that act directly on the mitotic machinery rather than on targets further upstream such as growth factor receptors.

Marine natural products

This review covers the literature published in 2004 for marine natural products, with 693 citations (491 for the period January to December 2004) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green algae, brown algae, red algae, sponges, coelenterates, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates and echinoderms. The emphasis is on new compounds (716 for 2004), together with their relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Biosynthetic studies (8), and syntheses (80), including those that lead to the revision of structures or stereochemistries, have been included.

Revocation of status of specific products; Group A streptococcus. Direct final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is removing the regulation applicable to the status of specific products; Group A streptococcus. FDA is removing the regulation because the existing requirement for Group A streptococcus organisms and derivatives is both obsolete and a perceived impediment to the development of Group A streptococcus vaccines. The regulation was written to apply to a group of products that are no longer on the market. We are taking this action as part of our continuing effort to reduce the burden of unnecessary regulations on industry and to revise outdated regulations without diminishing public health protection. We are issuing the removal directly as a final rule because it is noncontroversial, and there is little likelihood that we will receive any significant adverse comments. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, we are publishing a companion proposed rule under our usual procedures for notice and comment in the event that we receive any significant adverse comments on the direct final rule. If we receive any significant adverse comments that warrant terminating the direct final rule, we will consider such comments on the proposed rule in developing the final rule.

Charting biologically relevant chemical space: a structural classification of natural products (SCONP)

The identification of small molecules that fall within the biologically relevant subfraction of vast chemical space is of utmost importance to chemical biology and medicinal chemistry research. The prerequirement of biological relevance to be met by such molecules is fulfilled by natural product-derived compound collections. We report a structural classification of natural products (SCONP) as organizing principle for charting the known chemical space explored by nature. SCONP arranges the scaffolds of the natural products in a tree-like fashion and provides a viable analysis- and hypothesis-generating tool for the design of natural product-derived compound collections. The validity of the approach is demonstrated in the development of a previously undescribed class of selective and potent inhibitors of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 with activity in cells guided by SCONP and protein structure similarity clustering. 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 is a target in the development of new therapies for the treatment of diabetes, the metabolic syndrome, and obesity.

Classification of orally administered drugs on the World Health Organization Model list of Essential Medicines according to the biopharmaceutics classification system

Since its inception in 1995, the biopharmaceutical classification system (BCS) has become an increasingly important tool for regulation of drug products world-wide. Until now, application of the BCS has been partially hindered by the lack of a freely available and accurate database summarising solubility and permeability characteristics of drug substances. In this report, orally administered drugs on the Model list of Essential Medicines of the World Health Organization (WHO) are assigned BCS classifications on the basis of data available in the public domain. Of the 130 orally administered drugs on the WHO list, 61 could be classified with certainty. Twenty-one (84%) of these belong to class I (highly soluble, highly permeable), 10 (17%) to class II (poorly soluble, highly permeable), 24 (39%) to class III (highly soluble, poorly permeable) and 6 (10%) to class IV (poorly soluble, poorly permeable). A further 28 drugs could be provisionally assigned, while for 41 drugs insufficient or conflicting data precluded assignment to a specific BCS class. A total of 32 class I drugs (either certain or provisional classification) were identified. These drugs can be further considered for biowaiver status (drug product approval based on dissolution tests rather than bioequivalence studies in humans).

Characterizing biological products and assessing comparability following manufacturing changes

Changes in production methods of a biological product may necessitate an assessment of comparability to ensure that these manufacturing changes have not affected the safety, identity, purity, or efficacy of the product. Depending on the nature of the protein or the change, this assessment consists of a hierarchy of sequential tests in analytical testing, preclinical animal studies and clinical studies. Differences in analytical test results between pre- and post-change products may require functional testing to establish the biological or clinical significance of the observed difference. An underlying principle of comparability is that under certain conditions, protein products may be considered comparable on the basis of analytical testing results alone. However, the ability to compare biological materials is solely dependent on the tests used, since no single analytical method is able to compare every aspect of protein structure or function. The advantages and disadvantages of any given method depends on the protein property being characterized.

Programme en transfusion des étudiants en médecine

In France, transfusion medicine training program has been updated. A national committee of professors in transfusion medicine propose a series of 13 items which represent the minimum knowledge that general practitioners should possess. This overview of transfusion medicine is far below the level that specialists should reach and they will need an additional specialized training. Several French universities have set up their own training program which is quite similar to the work of the committee of professors. The following recommendations are not strict guidelines but is a common basis which will be improved in 2005 according to new evidence based transfusion medicine.

Marine natural products

This review covers the literature published in 2003 for marine natural products, with 619 citations (413 for the period January to December 2003) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green algae, brown algae, red algae, sponges, coelenterates, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates and echinoderms. The emphasis is on new compounds (656 for 2003), together with their relevant biological activities, source organisms and country or origin. Biosynthetic studies or syntheses that lead to the revision of structures or stereochemistries have been included (78), including any first total syntheses of a marine natural product.

Current and future considerations for the new classes of biologicals

PURPOSE

Key structural features of biologicals and their development are explained, and the fundamental distinctions between biological and chemical drugs in terms of their discovery, scale-up from research to commercial quantities, quality control, regulatory requirements, and potential for generic substitution are discussed.

SUMMARY

Recent advances in biotechnology have accelerated the introduction of biological protein drugs into the marketplace, offering new treatment options and challenges for pharmacists. Because these drugs are produced in living systems and are structurally complex, they are more difficult to manufacture, purify, and evaluate than are traditional chemical drugs. The production of recombinant-DNA-based protein and monoclonal antibody drugs is explained, and the strengths and limitations in selecting one or another host system (i.e., bacteria, yeast, or mammalian cells) for making a given biological drug are explored. Subtle variations in production methods can lead to significant differences in product volume, potential viral or bacterial contamination, bioactivity, and toxicity. Like manufacturers, federal regulators face difficult new challenges because of the structural complexity and in vivo synthesis of biologicals. Pharmacists and regulators alike must determine when and if therapeutic interchange is relevant to biologicals. Because biologicals are so difficult to manufacture and test, noninnovator biologicals must be subject to more oversight than traditional generic drugs.

CONCLUSION

Biologicals are complex agents whose production and properties present many considerations that are not associated with traditional chemical drugs.

Marine natural products

This review covers the literature published in 2002 for marine natural products, with 579 citations (413 for the period January to December 2002) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green algae, brown algae, red algae, sponges, coelenterates, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates and echinoderms. The emphasis is on new compounds (677 for 2002), together with their relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Syntheses that lead to the revision of structures or stereochemistries have been included (114), including any first total syntheses of a marine natural product.

Biological products; bacterial vaccines and toxoids; implementation of efficacy review. Final rule and final order

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the biologics regulations in response to the report and recommendations of the Panel on Review of Bacterial Vaccines and Toxoids with Standards of Potency (the Panel). The Panel reviewed the safety, efficacy, and labeling of bacterial vaccines and toxoids that have standards of potency, bacterial antitoxins, and immune globulins. On the basis of the Panel's findings and recommendations, FDA is classifying these products as Category I (safe, effective, and not misbranded), Category II (unsafe, ineffective, or misbranded), or Category IIIB (off the market pending completion of studies permitting a determination of effectiveness).

Marine natural products

This review covers the literature published in 2001 for marine natural products, with 497 citations (373 for the period January to December 2001) and includes 793 compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green algae, brown algae, red algae, sponges, coelenterates, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates and echinoderms. The emphasis is on new compounds and new stereochemical assignments (683 for 2001), together with relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Syntheses that confirm or revise structures or stereochemistries have been included (95), including any first total synthesis of a marine natural product.

The C7N aminocyclitol family of natural products

This review covers microbial secondary metabolites classified in the family of C7N aminocyclitols, a relatively new class of natural products that is increasingly gaining recognition due to their significant biomedical and agricultural uses. Their discovery and structure determinations, their biosynthetic origin, biological properties, chemical synthesis, as well as their further development for pharmaceutical uses are described. The literature from 1970 to July 2002 is reviewed, with 269 references cited.

ECVAM's activities on biologicals

This paper summarises key activities initiated and the progress achieved between April 1993 and June 2002 in implementing the Three Rs in one of ECVAM's priority areas - the production and quality control of biologicals. These have included: organising nine key workshops; financially supporting and/or participating in a number of prevalidation and/or validation studies; financial contributions and sponsorship to relevant international workshops, symposia and conferences; and financial support for the compilation of manuals and expert reports, and training in test methods. The paper complements the papers of Hendriksen et al. and Cussler et al. included in these proceedings.

The pyridoacridine family tree: a useful scheme for designing synthesis and predicting undiscovered natural products

The pyridoacridine natural products represent a large and growing class and serve here to illustrate the wealth of information that can be extracted by comparing natural products on the basis of structure and occurrence.

Marine natural products

This review covers the marine natural products literature for the year 2000 and is organized phylogenetically, with sections on marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green algae, brown algae, red algae, sponges, coelenterates, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates. echinoderms and miscellaneous marine organisms. There is an emphasis on new structures, stressing their biological activities, source organisms and countries of origin, and also syntheses that confirm the structures of known compounds. The review contains 869 structures and 592 references, of which 434 appeared between January and December 2000.