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Malani H, Shrivastava A, Nupur N, Rathore AS. LC-MS Characterization and Stability Assessment Elucidate Correlation Between Charge Variant Composition and Degradation of Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics. AAPS J 2024; 26:42. [PMID: 38570351 DOI: 10.1208/s12248-024-00915-9] [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: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Aggregation stability of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutics is influenced by many critical quality attributes (CQA) such as charge and hydrophobic variants in addition to environmental factors. In this study, correlation between charge heterogeneity and stability of mAbs for bevacizumab and trastuzumab has been investigated under a variety of stresses including thermal stress at 40 °C, thermal stress at 55 °C, shaking (mechanical), and low pH. Size- and charge-based heterogeneities were monitored using analytical size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and cation exchange chromatography (CEX), respectively, while dynamic light scattering was used to assess changes in hydrodynamic size. CEX analysis revealed an increase in cumulative acidic content for all variants of both mAbs post-stress treatment attributed to increased deamidation. Higher charge heterogeneity was observed in variants eluting close to the main peak than the ones eluting further away (25-fold and 42-fold increase in acidic content for main and B1 of bevacizumab and 19-fold for main of trastuzumab, respectively, under thermal stress; 50-fold increase in acidic for main and B1 of bevacizumab and 10% rise in basic content of main of trastuzumab under pH stress). Conversely, variants eluting far away from main exhibit greater aggregation as compared to close-eluting ones. Aggregation kinetics of variants followed different order for the different stresses for both mAbs (2nd order for thermal and pH stresses and 0th order for shaking stress). Half-life of terminal charge variants of both mAbs was 2- to 8-fold less than main indicating increased degradation propensity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Himanshu Malani
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Anuj Shrivastava
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Neh Nupur
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Anurag S Rathore
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India.
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Gupta S, Jiskoot W, Schöneich C, Rathore AS. Oxidation and Deamidation of Monoclonal Antibody Products: Potential Impact on Stability, Biological Activity, and Efficacy. J Pharm Sci 2021; 111:903-918. [PMID: 34890632 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2021.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The role in human health of therapeutic proteins in general, and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in particular, has been significant and is continuously evolving. A considerable amount of time and resources are invested first in mAb product development and then in clinical examination of the product. Physical and chemical degradation can occur during manufacturing, processing, storage, handling, and administration. Therapeutic proteins may undergo various chemical degradation processes, including oxidation, deamidation, isomerization, hydrolysis, deglycosylation, racemization, disulfide bond breakage and formation, Maillard reaction, and β-elimination. Oxidation and deamidation are the most common chemical degradation processes of mAbs, which may result in changes in physical properties, such as hydrophobicity, charge, secondary or/and tertiary structure, and may lower the thermodynamic or kinetic barrier to unfold. This may predispose the product to aggregation and other chemical modifications, which can alter the binding affinity, half-life, and efficacy of the product. This review summarizes major findings from the past decade on the impact of oxidation and deamidation on the stability, biological activity, and efficacy of mAb products. Mechanisms of action, influencing factors, characterization tools, clinical impact, and risk mitigation strategies have been addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surbhi Gupta
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi-110016, India
| | - Wim Jiskoot
- Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden Centre for Drug Research (LACDR), Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | - Anurag S Rathore
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi-110016, India.
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Kumar R, Guttman A, Rathore AS. Applications of capillary electrophoresis for biopharmaceutical product characterization. Electrophoresis 2021; 43:143-166. [PMID: 34591322 DOI: 10.1002/elps.202100182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Capillary electrophoresis (CE), after being introduced several decades ago, has carved out a niche for itself in the field of analytical characterization of biopharmaceutical products. It does not only offer fast separation, high resolution in miniaturized format, but equally importantly represents an orthogonal separation mechanism to high-performance liquid chromatography. Therefore, it is not surprising that CE-based methods can be found in all major pharmacopoeias and are recommended for the analysis of biopharmaceutical products during process development, characterization, quality control, and release testing. Different separation formats of CE, such as capillary gel electrophoresis, capillary isoelectric focusing, and capillary zone electrophoresis are widely used for size and charge heterogeneity characterization as well as purity and stability testing of therapeutic proteins. Hyphenation of CE with MS is emerging as a promising bioanalytical tool to assess the primary structure of therapeutic proteins along with any impurities. In this review, we confer the latest developments in capillary electrophoresis, used for the characterization of critical quality attributes of biopharmaceutical products covering the past 6 years (2015-2021). Monoclonal antibodies, due to their significant share in the market, have been given prioritized coverage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramesh Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India
| | - Andras Guttman
- Horváth Csaba Memorial Laboratories of Bioseparation Sciences, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.,Translational Glycomics Group, Research Institute of Biomolecular and Chemical Engineering, University of Pannonia, Veszprem, Hungary
| | - Anurag S Rathore
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India
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Singh SK, Kumar D, Malani H, Rathore AS. LC-MS based case-by-case analysis of the impact of acidic and basic charge variants of bevacizumab on stability and biological activity. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2487. [PMID: 33514790 PMCID: PMC7846745 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79541-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study investigates the impact of charge variants on bevacizumab's structure, stability, and biological activity. Five basic and one acidic charge variants were separated using semi-preparative cation exchange chromatography using linear pH gradient elution with purity > 85%. Based on the commercial biosimilar product's composition, two basic variants, one acidic and the main bevacizumab product, were chosen for further investigation. Intact mass analysis and tryptic peptide mapping established the basic variants' identity as those originating from an incomplete clipping of either one or both C-terminal lysine residues in the heavy chain of bevacizumab. Based on peptide mapping data, the acidic variant formation was attributed to deamidation of asparagine residue (N84), oxidation of M258, and preservation of C-terminal lysine residue, located on the heavy chain of bevacizumab. None of the observed charge heterogeneities in bevacizumab were due to differences in glycosylation among the variants. The basic (lysine) variants exhibited similar structural, functional, and stability profiles as the bevacizumab main product. But it was also noted that both the variants did not improve bevacizumab's therapeutic utility when pooled in different proportions with the main product. The acidic variant was found to have an equivalent secondary structure with subtle differences in the tertiary structure. The conformational difference also translated into a ~ 62% decrease in biological activity. Based on these data, it can be concluded that different charge variants behave differently with respect to their structure and bioactivity. Hence, biopharmaceutical manufacturers need to incorporate this understanding into their process and product development guidelines to maintain consistency in product quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumit Kumar Singh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Deepak Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Himanshu Malani
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Anurag S Rathore
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India.
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Mishra A, Patil RS, Singh S, Priyanka, Rathore AS. Mechanistic explanation of structural and functional changes induced by methionine mutation in G-CSF protein. CURRENT RESEARCH IN BIOTECHNOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crbiot.2020.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
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Singh SK, Mishra A, Goel G, Chirmule N, Rathore AS. Modulation of granulocyte colony stimulating factor conformation and receptor binding by methionine oxidation. Proteins 2020; 89:68-80. [PMID: 32860270 DOI: 10.1002/prot.25995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Biosimilars offer an avenue for potential cost savings and enhanced patient access to various emerging therapies in a budget neutral way. Biosimilars of the granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) are an excellent example in this regard with as many as 18 versions of the drug being currently approved across globe for treatment of neutropenia. Here, we identified oxidation of the various methionine residues in GCSF as a key heterogeneity that adversely impact its efficacy. In agreement with earlier studies, it was found that oxidation of Met 122 and Met 127 significantly contributes toward reduction of GCSF efficacy, measured using binding affinity to the GCSF receptor. The combination of molecular dynamics simulation along with structural characterization studies established that oxidation of Met 127 and Met 122 brings about a small local conformational change around the B-C loop in GCSF structure due to slight displacement of Asp113 and Thr117 residues. The simulation studies were validated using fluorescence quenching experiments using acrylamide as quencher and site-directed mutagenesis by replacing Met 122 and Met 127 residues with alanine. The results of this study lead to an enhanced mechanistic understanding of the oxidation in GCSF and should be useful in protein engineering efforts to design stable, safe, and efficacious GCSF product. In addition, the structure-function information can provide targets for protein engineering during early drug development and setting specifications of allowable limits of product variants in biosimilar products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumit Kumar Singh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, DBT Center of Excellence for Biopharmaceutical Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
| | - Avinash Mishra
- Department of Chemical Engineering, DBT Center of Excellence for Biopharmaceutical Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
| | - Gaurav Goel
- Department of Chemical Engineering, DBT Center of Excellence for Biopharmaceutical Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Anurag S Rathore
- Department of Chemical Engineering, DBT Center of Excellence for Biopharmaceutical Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
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Recent advances in LC–MS based characterization of protein-based bio-therapeutics – mastering analytical challenges posed by the increasing format complexity. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2020; 186:113251. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2020.113251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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Chung S, Tian J, Tan Z, Chen J, Lee J, Borys M, Li ZJ. Industrial bioprocessing perspectives on managing therapeutic protein charge variant profiles. Biotechnol Bioeng 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.26587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stanley Chung
- Department of Chemical Engineering; Northeastern University; Boston Massachusetts
| | - Jun Tian
- Biologics Development, Global Product Development and Supply; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Devens Massachusetts
| | - Zhijun Tan
- Biologics Development, Global Product Development and Supply; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Devens Massachusetts
| | - Jie Chen
- Biologics Development, Global Product Development and Supply; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Devens Massachusetts
| | - Jongchan Lee
- Biologics Development, Global Product Development and Supply; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Devens Massachusetts
| | - Michael Borys
- Biologics Development, Global Product Development and Supply; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Devens Massachusetts
| | - Zheng Jian Li
- Biologics Development, Global Product Development and Supply; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Devens Massachusetts
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