1
|
Kaur N, More A, McKeeby J, Vanipenta R, Patel F, Kish M, Pelekoudas D, Piquenot A, Nakach M, McCoy TR, Fontana L, Saluja A. Demystifying Fogging in Lyophilized Products: Impact of Pharmaceutical Processing. J Pharm Sci 2024; 113:2305-2313. [PMID: 38555999 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2024.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
A commonly encountered challenge with freeze-dried drug products is glass vial fogging. Fogging is characterized by a thin layer of product deposited upon the inner surface of the vial above the lyophilized cake. While considered to be a routine cosmetic defect in many instances, fogging around the shoulder and neck of the vial may potentially impact container closure integrity and reject rates during inspection. In this work, the influence of processing conditions i.e. vial pre-treatment, lyophilization cycle modifications and filling conditions on fogging was evaluated. A battery of analytical techniques was employed to investigate factors affecting glass vial fogging. A fogging score was used to quantify its severity in freeze-dried products. Additionally, a dye-based method was used to study solution upcreep (Marangoni flow) following product filling. Our lab-scale results indicate measurable improvement in fogging following the addition of an annealing step in the lyophilization cycle. Pre-freeze isothermal holding of the vials (at 5°C on the lyophilizer shelf) for an extended duration indicated a reduction in fogging whereas an increase in the freezing time exhibited no effect on fogging. Vial pre-treatment conditions were critical determinants of fogging for Type 1 vials whereas they had no impact on fogging in TopLyo® vials. The headspace relative humidity (RH) investigation also indicated sufficient increase in the water vapor pressure inside the vial to be conducive to the formulation of a hydration film - the precursor to Marangoni flow.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Navpreet Kaur
- Biologics Drug Product Development, Sanofi, Framingham, MA 01701, USA.
| | - Apurva More
- Current affiliation: Drug product development, Takeda, Lexington, MA 02421, USA (formerly: Biologics Drug Product Development, Sanofi, Framingham MA)
| | - Jacob McKeeby
- Current affiliation: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA 02210 (formerly: Biologics Drug Product Development, Sanofi, Framingham MA)
| | | | - Fenil Patel
- Current affiliation: HitchBio, Inc, Harvard Pagliuca Life Lab, Boston, MA 02134, USA (formerly: Biologics Drug Product Development, Sanofi, Framingham MA)
| | - Mary Kish
- Biologics Drug Product Development, Sanofi, Framingham, MA 01701, USA
| | - Dimitrios Pelekoudas
- Current affiliation: Genomic Medicine Unit, Sanofi, Waltham MA, USA (formerly: Biologics Drug Product Development, Sanofi, Framingham MA)
| | - Alexandre Piquenot
- Current affiliation: Refact, Lille, Hauts-de-France, France (formerly: Sanofi, Vitry sur Seine France)
| | - Mostafa Nakach
- Sanofi R&D, 1, Impasse des ateliers 94403 Vitry sur Seine France
| | - Timothy R McCoy
- Current affiliation: Amgen, Waterford, Ireland (formerly: Biologics Drug Product Development, Sanofi, Framingham MA)
| | - Lauren Fontana
- Biologics Drug Product Development, Sanofi, Framingham, MA 01701, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Mehta SB, Cook J, Liu W, Brisbane C. Risk Mitigation of Plunger-Stopper Displacement under Low Atmospheric Pressure by establishing Design Space for Filling-Stoppering Process of Prefilled Syringes: A Design of Experiment (DoE) Approach. J Pharm Sci 2022; 111:2038-2048. [PMID: 35122830 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2022.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
There is a concern that low atmospheric pressure typically encountered during shipment could result in plunger-stopper displacement in prefilled syringes impacting sterility and container closure integrity (CCI) of drug product1. In this work, following DoE principles we first investigated the impact of filling and stoppering operating parameters on creation of bubble height as performance parameters among others in nominal 1 mL and 2.25 mL Type I glass prefilled syringes (PFSs) with staked needle and rigid needle shield (RNS). Bubble height ranging from <2.0 mm to >15.0 mm were produced in syringes by filling water and vacuum stoppering at operating vacuum pressure ranging from 400 mbar to 950 mbar using a pilot scale filling-stoppering machine. We found that for a particular nominal fill volume in prefilled syringe, as the stoppering vacuum pressure increased, bubble height decreased resulting in plunger-stopper placed closer to the fill level. Subsequently, syringes with varying bubble size were exposed to reduced atmospheric pressure ranging from 628 Torr to 293 Torr bracketing the low pressure recommended by ASTM D4169 standard to qualify shipping containers for transportation of drug products. We found inverse linear correlation between bubble height and plunger-stopper displacement under low atmospheric pressure. However, plunger-stopper displacement increased exponentially as atmospheric pressure decreased. The results suggest that air bubble size in filled glass syringes should be minimized in order to mitigate sterility and container closure integrity (CCI) risk to drug product in prefilled syringes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shyam B Mehta
- Drug Product Development and Operations, Biologics CMC, Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, West Chester, PA 19380.
| | - Joseph Cook
- Drug Product Development and Operations, Biologics CMC, Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, West Chester, PA 19380
| | - Wei Liu
- Drug Product Development and Operations, Biologics CMC, Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, West Chester, PA 19380
| | - Charlene Brisbane
- Drug Product Development and Operations, Biologics CMC, Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, West Chester, PA 19380
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Newswanger B, Prestrelski S, Andre AD. Human factors studies of a prefilled syringe with stable liquid glucagon in a simulated severe hypoglycemia rescue situation. Expert Opin Drug Deliv 2020; 16:1015-1025. [PMID: 31475853 DOI: 10.1080/17425247.2019.1653278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Background: Two human factors studies evaluated whether a stable liquid formulation of glucagon in a prefilled syringe (G-PFS) could be safely and effectively administered and evaluated the effectiveness of the product label guide and instructions-for-use (IFU). Research design and methods: In a formative study, 11 participants received orientation with the G-PFS instructional materials and performed a single unaided rescue attempt. In the validation study, 75 adult and adolescent participants received training or familiarized themselves with the G-PFS IFU, Label Guide, and device. All participants returned 1 week later to perform a single unaided rescue attempt of a simulated person with diabetes suffering from an emergency severe hypoglycemic event. Results: The formative study resulted in a 100% success rate across all rescue dose attempts. The validation study resulted in 74/75 (99%) of participants successfully using the G-PFS to administer the full glucagon rescue dose, and validated that intended users could learn from, comprehend, and recall the G-PFS instructions to successfully use the product. Conclusion: The G-PFS provides a familiar, easy-to-use alternative to currently marketed lyophilized glucagon kits for treating severe hypoglycemia. The G-PFS IFU and Label Guide enable even untrained users to successfully administer a full rescue dose of stable liquid glucagon.
Collapse
|
4
|
Langer C, Mahler HC, Koulov A, Marti N, Grigore C, Matter A, Chalus P, Singh S, Lemazurier T, Joerg S, Mathaes R. Method to Predict Glass Vial Fogging in Lyophilized Drug Products. J Pharm Sci 2020; 109:323-330. [DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2019.08.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Revised: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/06/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
|
5
|
Crommelin DJA, Mastrobattista E, Hawe A, Hoogendoorn KH, Jiskoot W. Shifting Paradigms Revisited: Biotechnology and the Pharmaceutical Sciences. J Pharm Sci 2019; 109:30-43. [PMID: 31449815 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2019.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Revised: 08/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
In 2003, Crommelin et al. published an article titled: "Shifting paradigms: biopharmaceuticals versus low molecular weight drugs" (https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-5173(03)00376-4). In the present commentary, 16 years later, we discuss pharmaceutically relevant aspects of the evolution of biologics since then. First, we discuss the increasing repertoire of biologics, in particular, the rapidly growing monoclonal antibody family and the advent of advanced therapy medicinal products. Next, we discuss trends in formulation and characterization as well as summarize our current insights into immunogenicity of biologics. We spend a separate section on new product(ion) paradigms for biologics, such as cell-free production systems, production of advanced therapy medicinal products, and downscaled production approaches. Furthermore, we share our views on issues related to reaching the patient, including routes and techniques of administration, alternative development models for affordable biologics, biosimilars, and handling of biologics. In the concluding section, we outline outstanding issues and make some suggestions for resolving those.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daan J A Crommelin
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Enrico Mastrobattista
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | | | - Karin H Hoogendoorn
- Leiden University Medical Center, Hospital Pharmacy, Interdivisional GMP Facility, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Wim Jiskoot
- Coriolis Pharma, Martinsried, Germany; Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|