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Davies N, Hovdal D, Edmunds N, Nordberg P, Dahlén A, Dabkowska A, Arteta MY, Radulescu A, Kjellman T, Höijer A, Seeliger F, Holmedal E, Andihn E, Bergenhem N, Sandinge AS, Johansson C, Hultin L, Johansson M, Lindqvist J, Björsson L, Jing Y, Bartesaghi S, Lindfors L, Andersson S. Functionalized lipid nanoparticles for subcutaneous administration of mRNA to achieve systemic exposures of a therapeutic protein. MOLECULAR THERAPY-NUCLEIC ACIDS 2021; 24:369-384. [PMID: 33868782 PMCID: PMC8039535 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2021.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the most clinically advanced delivery system for RNA-based drugs but have predominantly been investigated for intravenous and intramuscular administration. Subcutaneous administration opens the possibility of patient self-administration and hence long-term chronic treatment that could enable messenger RNA (mRNA) to be used as a novel modality for protein replacement or regenerative therapies. In this study, we show that subcutaneous administration of mRNA formulated within LNPs can result in measurable plasma exposure of a secreted protein. However, subcutaneous administration of mRNA formulated within LNPs was observed to be associated with dose-limiting inflammatory responses. To overcome this limitation, we investigated the concept of incorporating aliphatic ester prodrugs of anti-inflammatory steroids within LNPs, i.e., functionalized LNPs to suppress the inflammatory response. We show that the effectiveness of this approach depends on the alkyl chain length of the ester prodrug, which determines its retention at the site of administration. An unexpected additional benefit to this approach is the prolongation observed in the duration of protein expression. Our results demonstrate that subcutaneous administration of mRNA formulated in functionalized LNPs is a viable approach to achieving systemic levels of therapeutic proteins, which has the added benefits of being amenable to self-administration when chronic treatment is required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nigel Davies
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Daniel Hovdal
- Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Nicholas Edmunds
- Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge SG8 6HB, UK
| | - Peter Nordberg
- Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Anders Dahlén
- Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | | | - Aurel Radulescu
- Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich Centre for Neutron Science at Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Tomas Kjellman
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Andreas Höijer
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Frank Seeliger
- Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Elin Holmedal
- Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Elisabeth Andihn
- Global Project and Portfolio Management, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Nils Bergenhem
- Alliance Management, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Boston, MA 02451, USA
| | - Ann-Sofie Sandinge
- Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Camilla Johansson
- Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Leif Hultin
- Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Marie Johansson
- Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Johnny Lindqvist
- Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Liselotte Björsson
- Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Yujia Jing
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Stefano Bartesaghi
- Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Lennart Lindfors
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Shalini Andersson
- Oligonucleotide Discovery, Discovery Sciences, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, 43183 Gothenburg, Sweden
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High-Throughput, Fluorescence-Based Esterase Activity Assay for Assessing Polysorbate Degradation Risk during Biopharmaceutical Development. Pharm Res 2021; 38:397-413. [PMID: 33655394 DOI: 10.1007/s11095-021-03011-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Hydrolytic degradation of polysorbate during 2-8°C storage of monoclonal antibody drug products has been attributed to residual enzymes (e.g., esterases) from bioprocessing steps. Robust detection of esterase activity using sensitive, non-polysorbate surrogate substrates can provide an alternate method to assess polysorbate degradation risk, if the correlation between the esterase activity and polysorbate degradation is established. METHODS A general esterase activity assay was developed as a monitoring and characterization tool during bioprocess development of monoclonal antibodies. RESULTS We report a fluorescence plate-based assay for quantifying esterase activity, utilizing 4-methylumbelliferyl caprylate (MU-C8) as the esterase substrate. The assay was first assessed for substrate, inhibitor and pH specificity using both model enzymes and purified protein samples. The assay was then extensively tested to understand sample matrix effects on activity rates. CONCLUSIONS The use of this high-throughput method will allow for rapid characterization of protein samples in under three hours. The esterase activity correlated directly with polysorbate degradation and can provide valuable information on polysorbate degradation risk throughout drug development.
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Christensen JØ, Schultz K, Mollgaard B, Kristensen HG, Mullertz A. Solubilisation of poorly water-soluble drugs during in vitro lipolysis of medium- and long-chain triacylglycerols. Eur J Pharm Sci 2004; 23:287-96. [PMID: 15489130 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejps.2004.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2003] [Accepted: 08/10/2004] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The partitioning of poorly soluble drugs into an aqueous micellar phase was exploited using an in vitro lipid digestion model, simulating the events taking place during digestion of acylglycerols in the duodenum. The aqueous micellar phase was isolated after ultracentrifugation of samples obtained at different degrees of triacylglycerol hydrolysis. Flupentixol, 1'-[4-[1-(4-fluorophenyl)-1-H-indol-3-yl]-1-butyl]spiro[iso-benzofuran-1(3H), 4' piperidine] (LU 28-179) and probucol were studied. The effect of the alkyl chain length of the triacylglycerol was studied using a medium-chain triacylglycerol (MCT) and a long-chain triacylglycerol (LCT), respectively. In general, an oil solution was used as the lipid source in the model. Samples were analysed in regard to micellar size, lipid composition and drug concentration. During lipolysis, the content of lipolytic products in the aqueous micellar phase increased. The micellar size (R(H) approximately 3 nm) only increased when long-chain lipolytic products were incorporated in the mixed micelles (R(H) approximately 7.8 nm). Flupentixol was quickly transferred to the mixed micelles due to high solubility in this phase (100% released). A tendency towards higher solubilisation of LU 28-179, when it was administered in the LCT (approximately 24% released) compared to when it was administered in the MCT (approximately 15% released) at 70% hydrolysis, and a lagphase was observed. There was no difference in the solubilisation of probucol using MCT or LCT ( approximately 20% released), respectively. Differences in the physicochemical properties of the drugs resulted in differences in their distribution between the phases arising during lipolysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janne Ørskov Christensen
- Department of Pharmaceutics, The Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universitetsparken 2, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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Tsuzuki W, Ue A, Nagao A, Endo M, Abe M. Inhibitory effect of lysophosphatidylcholine on pancreatic lipase-mediated hydrolysis in lipid emulsion. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 2004; 1684:1-7. [PMID: 15450204 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2004.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2003] [Revised: 05/25/2004] [Accepted: 05/25/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In the lipid metabolism pathway, dietary lipid emulsified with bile salts and phospholipids is mainly digested by pancreatic lipase into free fatty acids and monoacylglycerols. In order to study substrate recognition mechanism of a pancreatic lipase, we investigated its catalytic property toward the lipid emulsion prepared with long- or intermediate-chain acylglycerols and several physiological surfactants. When lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPC), rather than bile salts or phospholipid, was incorporated into the lipid emulsion, it caused an increase in the Km(app) and a decrease in the Vmax(app) values in the interactions between the lipase and triacylglycerol (triolein or tricaprin). This indicated that LysoPC inhibited hydrolysis by decreasing both the substrate affinities and the catalytic activity of this lipase. Interestingly, further addition of taurodeoxycholic acid sodium salts or phospholipid completely restored the inhibitory effect of LysoPC on hydrolysis by lipase. On the other hand, the change in these kinetic values between the lipase and two 1-monoacylglycerols (1-monocaprin and 1-monoolein) were not particularly large when LysoPC was added. Particle size analysis of the lipid emulsion composed of LysoPC and triacylglycerols showed that most of the particles were less than 200 nm in size, which was smaller than the particle size in the triacylglycerol emulsions containing bile salts or phospholipid. The composition of the emulsion would affect its surface characteristics and thus contribute to changing lipase activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wakako Tsuzuki
- National Food Research Institute, Kannondai, 2-1-12, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8642, Japan.
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Fukushima T, Usui N, Santa T, Imai K. Recent progress in derivatization methods for LC and CE analysis. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2003; 30:1655-87. [PMID: 12485710 DOI: 10.1016/s0731-7085(02)00511-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The derivatization procedure with a suitable fluorescence or chemiluminescence reagent is performed for the purpose of increasing the detection sensitivity and selectivity, in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and/or capillary electrophoresis (CE). In this article, recent derivatization methods and their applications to biosamples are described. In HPLC, femto mol order of mass detection limits are obtained by derivatization. Regarding the fluorescence reagents, the use of water-soluble reagents has been effective to avoid an undesired adsorption in the process of determination of peptides. In CE, the advantages of having extremely low mass detection limits (ranging from atto to yocto mol level) and requiring only a very short analysis time (less than a few minutes) are made possible by using laser-induced fluorescence or near infra-red detections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takeshi Fukushima
- Laboratory of Bio-Analytical Chemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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