The Effect of Shipping Stresses on Vaccine Re-dispersion Time

Impact of Post Manufacturing Handling of Protein-Based Biologic Drugs on Product Quality and User Centricity

This article evaluates the current gaps around the impact of post-manufacturing processes on the product qualities of protein-based biologics, with a focus on user centricity. It includes the evaluation of the regulatory guidance available, describes a collection of scientific literature and case studies to showcase the impact of post-manufacturing stresses on product and dosing solution quality. It also outlines the complexity of clinical handling and the need for communication, and alignment between drug providers, healthcare professionals, users, and patients. Regulatory agencies provide clear expectations for drug manufacturing processes, however, guidance supporting post-product manufacturing handling is less defined and often misaligned. This is problematic as the pharmaceutical products experience numerous stresses and processes which can potentially impact drug quality, safety and efficacy. This article aims to stimulate discussion amongst pharmaceutical developers, health care providers, device manufacturers, and public researchers to improve these processes. Patients and caregivers' awareness can be achieved by providing relevant educational material on pharmaceutical product handling.

Analysis of the Adsorbed Vaccine Formulations Using Water Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance-Comparison with Optical Analytics

PURPOSE

To evaluate wNMR, an emerging noninvasive analytical technology, for characterizing aluminum-adjuvanted vaccine formulations.

METHODS

wNMR stands for water proton nuclear magnetic resonance. In this work, wNMR and optical techniques (laser diffraction and laser scattering) were used to characterize vaccine formulations containing different antigen loads adsorbed onto AlPO4 adjuvant microparticles, including the fully dispersed state and the sedimentation process. All wNMR measurements were done noninvasively on sealed vials containing the adsorbed vaccine suspensions, while the optical techniques require transferring the adsorbed vaccine suspensions out of the original vial into specialized cuvette/tube for analysis. For analyzing fully dispersed suspensions, optical techniques also require sample dilution.

RESULTS

wNMR outperformed laser diffraction in differentiating high- and low-dose formulations of the same vaccine, while wNMR and laser scattering achieved comparable results on vaccine sedimentation kinetics and the compactness of fully settled vaccines.

CONCLUSION

wNMR could be used to analyze aluminum-adjuvanted formulations and to differentiate between formulations containing different antigen loads adsorbed onto aluminum adjuvant microparticles. The results demonstrate the capability of wNMR to characterize antigen-adjuvant complexes and to noninvasively inspect finished vaccine products.

Monitoring of the sedimentation kinetics of vaccine adjuvants using water proton NMR relaxation

Suspensions of solid particles find applications in many areas-mining, waste treatment, and in pharmaceutical formulations. Pharmaceutical suspensions include aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines are widely administered to millions of people worldwide annually. Hence, the stability parameters of such suspensions, for example, sedimentation rate and the compactness of the formed sediments, are of great interest to achieve the most optimal and stable formulations. Unlike currently used analytical techniques involving visual observations and/or monitoring of several optical properties using specialized glassware, water proton nuclear magnetic resonance (wNMR) used in this work allows one to analyze samples in their original sealed container regardless of its opacity and/or labeling. It was demonstrated that the water proton transverse relaxation rate could be used to monitor in real time the sedimentation process of two widely used aluminum adjuvants-Alhydrogel® and Adju-Phos®. Using wNMR, we obtained valuable information on the sedimentation rate, dynamics of the supernatant and sediment formation, and the sedimentation volume ratio (SVR) reflecting the compactness of the formed sediment. Results on SVR from wNMR were verified by caliper measurements. Verification of the sedimentation rate results from wNMR by other analytical techniques is challenging due to differences in the measured attributes and even units of the reported rate. Nonetheless, our results demonstrate the practical applicability of wNMR as an analytical tool to study pharmaceutical suspensions, for example, aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines, to provide higher quality and more efficient vaccines. Such analyses could be carried out in the original container of a suspension drug product to study its colloidal stability and to monitor its quality over time without compromising product integrity.