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Mora J, Forman D, Hu J, Ijantkar A, Gokemeijer J, Kolaja KL, Picarillo C, Jawa V, Yue H, Lamy J, Denies S, Schockaert J, Ackaert C. Immunogenicity Risk Assessment of Process-Related Impurities in An Engineered T Cell Receptor Cellular Product. J Pharm Sci 2024:S0022-3549(24)00188-6. [PMID: 38768755 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2024.05.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Cell therapies such as genetically modified T cells have emerged as a promising and viable treatment for hematologic cancers and are being aggressively pursued for a wide range of diseases and conditions that were previously difficult to treat or had no cure. The process development requires genetic modifications to T cells to express a receptor (engineered T cell receptor (eTCR)) of specific binding qualities to the desired target. Protein reagents utilized during the cell therapy manufacturing process, to facilitate these genetic modifications, are often present as process-related impurities at residual levels in the final drug product and can represent a potential immunogenicity risk upon infusion. This manuscript presents a framework for the qualification of an assay for assessing the immunogenicity risk of AA6 and Cas9 residuals. The same framework applies for other residuals; however, AAV6 and Cas9 were selected as they were residuals from the manufacturing of an engineered T cell receptor cellular product in development. The manuscript: 1) elucidates theoretical risks, 2) summarizes analytical data collected during process development, 3) describes the qualification of an in vitro human PBMC cytokine release assay to assess immunogenicity risk from cellular product associated process residuals; 4) identifies a multiplexed inflammatory innate and adaptive cytokine panel with pre-defined criteria using relevant positive controls; and 5) discusses qualification challenges and potential solutions for establishing meaningful thresholds. The assessment is not only relevant to establishing safe exposure levels of these residuals but also in guiding risk assessment and CMC strategy during the conduct of clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Mora
- Clinical Pharmacology Pharmacometrics and Bioanalysis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ, United States.
| | - Daron Forman
- Discovery Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cambridge MA, United States
| | - Jennifer Hu
- Current: Technical Operations, Analytical Development, Gentibio, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Akshata Ijantkar
- Cell Therapy Product and Analytical Development, Bristol Myers Squibb, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Jochem Gokemeijer
- Discovery Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cambridge MA, United States
| | - Kyle L Kolaja
- Nonclincial Safety, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Summit NJ, United States
| | - Caryn Picarillo
- Discovery Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cambridge MA, United States
| | - Vibha Jawa
- Clinical Pharmacology Pharmacometrics and Bioanalysis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ, United States
| | - Hai Yue
- Cell Therapy Product and Analytical Development, Bristol Myers Squibb, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Juliette Lamy
- ImmunXperts, a Q2 Solutions Company, Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Sofie Denies
- ImmunXperts, a Q2 Solutions Company, Gosselies, Belgium
| | | | - Chloé Ackaert
- ImmunXperts, a Q2 Solutions Company, Gosselies, Belgium
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2
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Rade M, Böhlen S, Neuhaus V, Löffler D, Blumert C, Merz M, Köhl U, Dehmel S, Sewald K, Reiche K. A time-resolved meta-analysis of consensus gene expression profiles during human T-cell activation. Genome Biol 2023; 24:287. [PMID: 38098113 PMCID: PMC10722659 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-03120-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The coordinated transcriptional regulation of activated T-cells is based on a complex dynamic behavior of signaling networks. Given an external stimulus, T-cell gene expression is characterized by impulse and sustained patterns over the course. Here, we analyze the temporal pattern of activation across different T-cell populations to develop consensus gene signatures for T-cell activation. RESULTS Here, we identify and verify general biomarker signatures robustly evaluating T-cell activation in a time-resolved manner. We identify time-resolved gene expression profiles comprising 521 genes of up to 10 disjunct time points during activation and different polarization conditions. The gene signatures include central transcriptional regulators of T-cell activation, representing successive waves as well as sustained patterns of induction. They cover sustained repressed, intermediate, and late response expression rates across multiple T-cell populations, thus defining consensus biomarker signatures for T-cell activation. In addition, intermediate and late response activation signatures in CAR T-cell infusion products are correlated to immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome. CONCLUSION This study is the first to describe temporally resolved gene expression patterns across T-cell populations. These biomarker signatures are a valuable source, e.g., monitoring transcriptional changes during T-cell activation with a reasonable number of genes, annotating T-cell states in single-cell transcriptome studies, or assessing dysregulated functions of human T-cell immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Rade
- Department of Diagnostics, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Perlickstraße 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Sebastian Böhlen
- Department of Preclinical Pharmacology and In-Vitro Toxicology, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, ITEM, Nikolai-Fuchs-Strasse 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Vanessa Neuhaus
- Department of Preclinical Pharmacology and In-Vitro Toxicology, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, ITEM, Nikolai-Fuchs-Strasse 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Dennis Löffler
- Department of Diagnostics, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Perlickstraße 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Conny Blumert
- Department of Diagnostics, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Perlickstraße 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Maximilian Merz
- Department of Hematology, Cellular Therapy, Hemostaseology and Infectiology, University Hospital of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ulrike Köhl
- Department of Diagnostics, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Perlickstraße 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Clinical Immunology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 30, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Susann Dehmel
- Department of Preclinical Pharmacology and In-Vitro Toxicology, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, ITEM, Nikolai-Fuchs-Strasse 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Katherina Sewald
- Department of Preclinical Pharmacology and In-Vitro Toxicology, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, ITEM, Nikolai-Fuchs-Strasse 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Kristin Reiche
- Department of Diagnostics, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Perlickstraße 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Clinical Immunology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 30, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (ScaDS.AI), Dresden, Leipzig, Germany
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3
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Hartman K, Steiner G, Siegel M, Looney CM, Hickling TP, Bray-French K, Springer S, Marban-Doran C, Ducret A. Expanding the MAPPs Assay to Accommodate MHC-II Pan Receptors for Improved Predictability of Potential T Cell Epitopes. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1265. [PMID: 37759665 PMCID: PMC10525474 DOI: 10.3390/biology12091265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
A critical step in the immunogenicity cascade is attributed to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) II presentation triggering T cell immune responses. The liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II-associated peptide proteomics (MAPPs) assay is implemented during preclinical risk assessments to identify biotherapeutic-derived T cell epitopes. Although studies indicate that HLA-DP and HLA-DQ alleles are linked to immunogenicity, most MAPPs studies are restricted to using HLA-DR as the dominant HLA II genotype due to the lack of well-characterized immunoprecipitating antibodies. Here, we address this issue by testing various commercially available clones of MHC-II pan (CR3/43, WR18, and Tü39), HLA-DP (B7/21), and HLA-DQ (SPV-L3 and 1a3) antibodies in the MAPPs assay, and characterizing identified peptides according to binding specificity. Our results reveal that HLA II receptor-precipitating reagents with similar reported specificities differ based on clonality and that MHC-II pan antibodies do not entirely exhibit pan-specific tendencies. Since no individual antibody clone is able to recover the complete HLA II peptide repertoire, we recommend a mixed strategy of clones L243, WR18, and SPV-L3 in a single immunoprecipitation step for more robust compound-specific peptide detection. Ultimately, our optimized MAPPs strategy improves the predictability and additional identification of T cell epitopes in immunogenicity risk assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Hartman
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland (C.M.L.)
| | - Guido Steiner
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland (C.M.L.)
| | - Michel Siegel
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland (C.M.L.)
| | - Cary M. Looney
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland (C.M.L.)
| | - Timothy P. Hickling
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland (C.M.L.)
| | - Katharine Bray-French
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland (C.M.L.)
| | - Sebastian Springer
- School of Science, Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Constructor University, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Céline Marban-Doran
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland (C.M.L.)
| | - Axel Ducret
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland (C.M.L.)
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4
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In vitro and in vivo immunogenicity assessment of protein aggregate characteristics. Int J Pharm 2023; 631:122490. [PMID: 36521637 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2022.122490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The immunogenicity risk of therapeutic protein aggregates has been extensively investigated over the past decades. While it is established that not all aggregates are equally immunogenic, the specific aggregate characteristics, which are most likely to induce an immune response, remain ambiguous. The aim of this study was to perform comprehensive in vitro and in vivo immunogenicity assessment of human insulin aggregates varying in size, structure and chemical modifications, while keeping other morphological characteristics constant. We found that flexible aggregates with highly altered secondary structure were most immunogenic in all setups, while compact aggregates with native-like structure were found to be immunogenic primarily in vivo. Moreover, sub-visible (1-100 µm) aggregates were found to be more immunogenic than sub-micron (0.1-1 µm) aggregates, while chemical modifications (deamidation, ethylation and covalent dimers) were not found to have any measurable impact on immunogenicity. The findings highlight the importance of utilizing aggregates varying in few characteristics for assessment of immunogenicity risk of specific morphological features and may provide a workflow for reliable particle analysis in biotherapeutics.
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5
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Siegel M, Steiner G, Franssen LC, Carratu F, Herron J, Hartman K, Looney CM, Ducret A, Bray-French K, Rohr O, Hickling TP, Smith N, Marban-Doran C. Validation of a Dendritic Cell and CD4+ T Cell Restimulation Assay Contributing to the Immunogenicity Risk Evaluation of Biotherapeutics. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14122672. [PMID: 36559166 PMCID: PMC9781343 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14122672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunogenicity, defined as the ability to provoke an immune response, can be either wanted (i.e., vaccines) or unwanted. The latter refers to an immune response to protein or peptide therapeutics, characterized by the production of anti-drug antibodies, which may affect the efficacy and/or the safety profiles of these drugs. Consequently, evaluation of the risk of immunogenicity early in the development of biotherapeutics is of critical importance for defining their efficacy and safety profiles. Here, we describe and validate a fit-for-purpose FluoroSpot-based in vitro assay for the evaluation of drug-specific T cell responses. A panel of 24 biotherapeutics with a wide range of clinical anti-drug antibody response rates were tested in this assay. We demonstrated that using suitable cutoffs and donor cohort sizes, this assay could identify most of the compounds with high clinical immunogenicity rates (71% and 78% for sensitivity and specificity, respectively) while we characterized the main sources of assay variability. Overall, these data indicate that the dendritic cell and CD4+ T cell restimulation assay published herein could be a valuable tool to assess the risk of drug-specific T cell responses and contribute to the selection of clinical candidates in early development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel Siegel
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Guido Steiner
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Linnea C. Franssen
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Francesca Carratu
- Lonza Biologics, Chesterford Research Park, Saffron Walden CB10 1XL, UK
| | - James Herron
- Lonza Biologics, Chesterford Research Park, Saffron Walden CB10 1XL, UK
| | - Katharina Hartman
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Cary M. Looney
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Axel Ducret
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Katharine Bray-French
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Olivier Rohr
- UR 7292, IUT Louis Pasteur, Université de Strasbourg, 67300 Schiltigheim, France
| | - Timothy P. Hickling
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Noel Smith
- Lonza Biologics, Chesterford Research Park, Saffron Walden CB10 1XL, UK
| | - Céline Marban-Doran
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
- Correspondence:
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6
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In vitro immunogenicity prediction: bridging between innate and adaptive immunity. Bioanalysis 2021; 13:1071-1081. [PMID: 34124935 DOI: 10.4155/bio-2021-0077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Development of antidrug antibodies (ADAs) is an undesirable potential outcome of administration of biotherapeutics and involves the innate and adaptive immune systems. ADAs can have detrimental clinical consequences: they can reduce biotherapeutic efficacy or produce adverse events. Because animal models are considered poor predictors of immunogenicity in humans, in vitro assays with human innate and adaptive immune cells are commonly used alternatives that can reveal cell-mediated unwanted immune responses. Multiple methods have been developed to assess the immune cell response following exposure to biotherapeutics and estimate the potential immunogenicity of biotherapeutics. This review highlights the role of innate and adaptive immune cells as the drivers of immunogenicity and summarizes the use of these cells in assays to predict clinical ADA.
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7
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Bray-French K, Hartman K, Steiner G, Marban-Doran C, Bessa J, Campbell N, Martin-Facklam M, Stubenrauch KG, Solier C, Singer T, Ducret A. Managing the Impact of Immunogenicity in an Era of Immunotherapy: From Bench to Bedside. J Pharm Sci 2021; 110:2575-2584. [PMID: 33812888 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2021.03.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Biotherapeutics have revolutionized our ability to treat life-threatening diseases. Despite clinical success, the use of biotherapeutics has sometimes been limited by the immune response mounted against them in the form of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs). The multifactorial nature of immunogenicity has prevented a standardized approach for assessing this and each of the assessment methods developed so far does not exhibit high enough reliability to be used alone, due to limited predictiveness. This prompted the Roche Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) Immunogenicity Working Group to establish an internal preclinical immunogenicity toolbox of in vitro/in vivo approaches and accompanying guidelines for a harmonized assessment and management of immunogenicity in early development. In this article, the complex factors influencing immunogenicity and their associated clinical ramifications are discussed to highlight the importance of an end-to-end approach conducted from lead optimization to clinical candidate selection. We then examine the impact of the resulting lead candidate categorization on the design and implementation of a multi-tiered ADA/immunogenicity assay strategy prior to phase I (entry into human) through early clinical development. Ultimately, the Immunogenicity Toolbox ensures that Roche pRED teams are equipped to address immunogenicity in a standardized manner, paving the way for lifesaving products with improved safety and efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine Bray-French
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Hartman
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Guido Steiner
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Céline Marban-Doran
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Juliana Bessa
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Neil Campbell
- Global Product Strategy, Pharma Division, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Meret Martin-Facklam
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Kay-Gunnar Stubenrauch
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Corinne Solier
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Singer
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Axel Ducret
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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8
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Ulitzka M, Carrara S, Grzeschik J, Kornmann H, Hock B, Kolmar H. Engineering therapeutic antibodies for patient safety: tackling the immunogenicity problem. Protein Eng Des Sel 2021; 33:5944198. [PMID: 33128053 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzaa025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Established monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) allow treatment of cancers, autoimmune diseases and other severe illnesses. Side effects either arise due to interaction with the target protein and its biology or result from of the patient's immune system reacting to the foreign protein. This immunogenic reaction against therapeutic antibodies is dependent on various factors. The presence of non-human sequences can trigger immune responses as well as chemical and post-translational modifications of the antibody. However, even fully human antibodies can induce immune response through T cell epitopes or aggregates. In this review, we briefly describe, how therapeutic antibodies can interact with the patient's immune system and summarize recent advancements in protein engineering and in silico methods to reduce immunogenicity of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Ulitzka
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 4, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany.,Ferring Darmstadt Labs, Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 4, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Stefania Carrara
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 4, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany.,Ferring Darmstadt Labs, Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 4, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Julius Grzeschik
- Ferring Darmstadt Labs, Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 4, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Henri Kornmann
- Ferring International Center S.A., Chemin de la Vergognausaz 50, CH-1162 Saint-Prex, Switzerland
| | - Björn Hock
- Ferring International Center S.A., Chemin de la Vergognausaz 50, CH-1162 Saint-Prex, Switzerland
| | - Harald Kolmar
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 4, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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9
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Cohen S, Myneni S, Batt A, Guerrero J, Brumm J, Chung S. Immunogenicity risk assessment for biotherapeutics through in vitro detection of CD134 and CD137 on T helper cells. MAbs 2021; 13:1898831. [PMID: 33729092 PMCID: PMC7993230 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2021.1898831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Biotherapeutics, which are biologic medications that are natural or bioengineered products of living cells, have revolutionized the treatment of many diseases. However, unwanted immune responses still present a major challenge to their widespread adoption. Many patients treated with biotherapeutics develop antigen-specific anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) that may reduce the efficacy of the therapy or cross-react with the endogenous counterpart of a protein therapeutic, or both. Here, we describe an in vitro method for assessing the immunogenic risk of a biotherapeutic. We found a correlation between clinical immunogenicity and the frequency with which a biotherapeutic stimulated an increase in CD134, CD137, or both cell surface markers on CD4+ T cells. Using high-throughput flow cytometry, we examined the effects of 14 biotherapeutics with diverse rates of clinical immunogenicity on peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 120 donors with diverse human leukocyte antigen class II-encoding alleles. Biotherapeutics with high rates of ADA development in the clinic had higher proportions of CD4+ T cells positive for CD134 or CD137 than biotherapeutics with low clinical immunogenicity. This method provides a rapid and simple preclinical test of the immunogenic potential of a new candidate biotherapeutic or biosimilar. Implementation of this approach during biotherapeutic research and development enables rapid elimination of candidates that are likely to cause ADA-related adverse events and detrimental consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sivan Cohen
- Department of BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Srividya Myneni
- Department of BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Anna Batt
- Department of BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Joyce Guerrero
- Department of BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jochen Brumm
- Department of Biostatistics, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Shan Chung
- Department of BioAnalytical Sciences, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, USA
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10
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The Impact of Product and Process Related Critical Quality Attributes on Immunogenicity and Adverse Immunological Effects of Biotherapeutics. J Pharm Sci 2020; 110:1025-1041. [PMID: 33316242 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2020.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The pharmaceutical industry has experienced great successes with protein therapeutics in the last two decades and with novel modalities, including cell therapies and gene therapies, more recently. Biotherapeutics are complex in structure and present challenges for discovery, development, regulatory, and life cycle management. Biotherapeutics can interact with the immune system that may lead to undesired immunological responses, including immunogenicity, hypersensitivity reactions (HSR), injection site reactions (ISR), and others. Many product and process related critical quality attributes (CQAs) have the potential to trigger or augment such immunological responses to the product. Tremendous efforts, both clinically and preclinically, have been invested to understand the impact of product and process related CQAs on adverse immunological effects. The information and knowledge are critical for the implementation of Quality by Design (QbD), which requires risk assessment and establishment of specifications and control strategies for CQAs. A quality target product profile (QTPP) that identifies the key CQAs through process development can help assign severity scores based on safety, immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of the molecule. Gaps and future directions related to biotherapeutics and emerging novel modalities are presented.
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11
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Jawa V, Terry F, Gokemeijer J, Mitra-Kaushik S, Roberts BJ, Tourdot S, De Groot AS. T-Cell Dependent Immunogenicity of Protein Therapeutics Pre-clinical Assessment and Mitigation-Updated Consensus and Review 2020. Front Immunol 2020; 11:1301. [PMID: 32695107 PMCID: PMC7338774 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune responses to protein and peptide drugs can alter or reduce their efficacy and may be associated with adverse effects. While anti-drug antibodies (ADA) are a standard clinical measure of protein therapeutic immunogenicity, T cell epitopes in the primary sequences of these drugs are the key drivers or modulators of ADA response, depending on the type of T cell response that is stimulated (e.g., T helper or Regulatory T cells, respectively). In a previous publication on T cell-dependent immunogenicity of biotherapeutics, we addressed mitigation efforts such as identifying and reducing the presence of T cell epitopes or T cell response to protein therapeutics prior to further development of the protein therapeutic for clinical use. Over the past 5 years, greater insight into the role of regulatory T cell epitopes and the conservation of T cell epitopes with self (beyond germline) has improved the preclinical assessment of immunogenic potential. In addition, impurities contained in therapeutic drug formulations such as host cell proteins have also attracted attention and become the focus of novel risk assessment methods. Target effects have come into focus, given the emergence of protein and peptide drugs that target immune receptors in immuno-oncology applications. Lastly, new modalities are entering the clinic, leading to the need to revise certain aspects of the preclinical immunogenicity assessment pathway. In addition to drugs that have multiple antibody-derived domains or non-antibody scaffolds, therapeutic drugs may now be introduced via viral vectors, cell-based constructs, or nucleic acid based therapeutics that may, in addition to delivering drug, also prime the immune system, driving immune response to the delivery vehicle as well as the encoded therapeutic, adding to the complexity of assessing immunogenicity risk. While it is challenging to keep pace with emerging methods for the preclinical assessment of protein therapeutics and new biologic therapeutic modalities, this collective compendium provides a guide to current best practices and new concepts in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vibha Jawa
- Predictive and Clinical Immunogenicity, PPDM, Merck & Co., Kenilworth, NJ, United States
| | | | - Jochem Gokemeijer
- Discovery Biotherapeutics, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | | | | | - Sophie Tourdot
- BioMedicine Design, Pfizer Inc., Andover, MA, United States
| | - Anne S De Groot
- EpiVax, Inc., Providence, RI, United States.,Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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