Commentary: current perspectives on the aggregation of protein drugs

Failure mode identification of Insulin drug products - Impact of relevant stress conditions on the quality of the drug

Fast-acting insulin drug products (DPs) are carried and administered by diabetic patients to maintain their blood glucose level throughout the day, exposing the DPs to stress conditions. Apidra, Novolog, and Humalog insulin DPs were tested under various stress conditions. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) were used to monitor the stability and aggregation. Thermal stress alone did not influence the stability. However, 24 hr exposure to vigorous mechanical stress shifted the DLS size peaks of Novolog and Humalog from 5 ± 1 nm to > 50.9 ± 25.6 nm, and the SEC native protein peak areas decreased 52% for Novolog and 18.4% for Humalog. Combined stress accelerated protein aggregation more drastically. Novolog and Humalog size shifted (>75 nm) after 3 hr and the peak area decreased > 97.9% after 6 hr exposure, indicating that high temperature accelerated the aggregation triggered by agitation. Soluble aggregates were captured by DLS early on compared to SEC. Apidra was comparably stable indicating DP formulation plays a critical role in stability. Our study provides a greater understanding of potential failure modes patients and care givers may encounter while handling insulin DPs.

Extrapolation: Experience gained from original biologics

Biologicals undergo modifications throughout their commercial lifecycle. Major changes can unintentionally magnify their inherent physicochemical variability. Although trials comparing the pre- and the post-change versions have been requested occasionally, analytical comparison is the most sensitive approach to anticipating clinical equivalence. Therefore, it may be concluded, by means of 'extrapolation', that non-identical versions of a given biologic will behave equally in all indications. Despite the lessons learned with original biologics, there are still controversies around the approval of biosimilars through extrapolation. Here, a comprehensive analysis of scattered information allows for an account of cases of original biologic versions approved in some indications with no patient trials involved. Healthcare professionals can be reassured that inasmuch as extrapolation has proven valid for new versions of original biologics, the same holds for biosimilars.

Damage of proteins at the air/water interface: Surface tension characterizes globulin interface stability

In the present study, we aimed to see what circumstances may cause protein damage at air/water interface and reveal the correlation between the surface properties of protein solution and the interface stability. The surface hydrophobicity and β-sheet of protein were determined by exogenous fluorescent probes, and the changes in the spatial structure of proteins were characterized by steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy. The surface tension was determined by the plate method, and such value was used to establish the correlation with the hydrophobicity and structure of the protein. Moreover, degree of aggregation in the presence or absence of Hofmeister salt in protein solution was investigated. There was a significant correlation between the surface tension and hydrophobicity of the protein solution (P < 0.05). The surface tension and structure of the protein also showed a significant correlation under the induction of pH (P < 0.05). Furthermore, when the protein was induced by the air/water interface, the surface tension, hydrophobicity, and structure of proteins were correlated, and protein aggregation was increased. When the additive induced a decrease in the surface tension of the protein solution, the protein aggregation was promoted. These findings provided valuable insights into the relationship between surface tension of the protein solution and interfacial stability and paved the way for future pre-formulation studies of therapeutic proteins.

Water Proton NMR for In Situ Detection of Insulin Aggregates

The need for quality control during the manufacturing and distribution of biopharmaceuticals is becoming increasingly necessary. At present, detecting drug degradation through the monitoring of active factor aggregation is accomplished through "invasive" techniques, such as size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), and so on. Unfortunately, these analytical methods require sampling the drug by opening the drug container that renders the remaining drug unusable regardless of the outcome of the test. Visual inspection, the current non-invasive quality control method is qualitative and can only detect visible particulates. Thus, it will miss sub-visible protein aggregates. In this paper, human insulin preparations were used to demonstrate that the transverse relaxation rate of water protons R2 ((1) H2 O) can serve as a sensitive and reliable indicator to detect and quantify both visible and sub-visible protein aggregates. R2 ((1) H2 O) is measured using a wide-bore low-field bench-top NMR instrument with permanent magnets. Such analysis could be carried out without opening the drug container, thus saving a drug for further use. The results suggest a novel, economical, non-destructive in situ analytical technique that allows for on-the-site quantification of protein aggregation in biopharmaceutical products.