1
|
Fernández-Quintero ML, Ljungars A, Waibl F, Greiff V, Andersen JT, Gjølberg TT, Jenkins TP, Voldborg BG, Grav LM, Kumar S, Georges G, Kettenberger H, Liedl KR, Tessier PM, McCafferty J, Laustsen AH. Assessing developability early in the discovery process for novel biologics. MAbs 2023; 15:2171248. [PMID: 36823021 PMCID: PMC9980699 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2023.2171248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Beyond potency, a good developability profile is a key attribute of a biological drug. Selecting and screening for such attributes early in the drug development process can save resources and avoid costly late-stage failures. Here, we review some of the most important developability properties that can be assessed early on for biologics. These include the influence of the source of the biologic, its biophysical and pharmacokinetic properties, and how well it can be expressed recombinantly. We furthermore present in silico, in vitro, and in vivo methods and techniques that can be exploited at different stages of the discovery process to identify molecules with liabilities and thereby facilitate the selection of the most optimal drug leads. Finally, we reflect on the most relevant developability parameters for injectable versus orally delivered biologics and provide an outlook toward what general trends are expected to rise in the development of biologics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Monica L. Fernández-Quintero
- Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Anne Ljungars
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Franz Waibl
- Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Victor Greiff
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jan Terje Andersen
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Timothy P. Jenkins
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Bjørn Gunnar Voldborg
- National Biologics Facility, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Lise Marie Grav
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Sandeep Kumar
- Biotherapeutics Discovery, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc, Ridgefield, CT, USA
| | - Guy Georges
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Large Molecule Research, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Penzberg, Germany
| | - Hubert Kettenberger
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Large Molecule Research, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Penzberg, Germany
| | - Klaus R. Liedl
- Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Peter M. Tessier
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - John McCafferty
- Department of Medicine, Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Maxion Therapeutics, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Andreas H. Laustsen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Bern M, Nilsen J, Ferrarese M, Sand KMK, Gjølberg TT, Lode HE, Davidson RJ, Camire RM, Bækkevold ES, Foss S, Grevys A, Dalhus B, Wilson J, Høydahl LS, Christianson GJ, Roopenian DC, Schlothauer T, Michaelsen TE, Moe MC, Lombardi S, Pinotti M, Sandlie I, Branchini A, Andersen JT. An engineered human albumin enhances half-life and transmucosal delivery when fused to protein-based biologics. Sci Transl Med 2021; 12:12/565/eabb0580. [PMID: 33055243 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abb0580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Needle-free uptake across mucosal barriers is a preferred route for delivery of biologics, but the efficiency of unassisted transmucosal transport is poor. To make administration and therapy efficient and convenient, strategies for the delivery of biologics must enhance both transcellular delivery and plasma half-life. We found that human albumin was transcytosed efficiently across polarized human epithelial cells by a mechanism that depends on the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). FcRn also transported immunoglobulin G, but twofold less than albumin. We therefore designed a human albumin variant, E505Q/T527M/K573P (QMP), with improved FcRn binding, resulting in enhanced transcellular transport upon intranasal delivery and extended plasma half-life of albumin in transgenic mice expressing human FcRn. When QMP was fused to recombinant activated coagulation factor VII, the half-life of the fusion molecule increased 3.6-fold compared with the wild-type human albumin fusion, without compromising the therapeutic properties of activated factor VII. Our findings highlight QMP as a suitable carrier of protein-based biologics that may enhance plasma half-life and delivery across mucosal barriers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Malin Bern
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jeannette Nilsen
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Mattia Ferrarese
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and LTTA, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Kine M K Sand
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,CIR and Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Torleif T Gjølberg
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0450 Oslo, Norway
| | - Heidrun E Lode
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0450 Oslo, Norway
| | - Robert J Davidson
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, The Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Rodney M Camire
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, The Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Espen S Bækkevold
- CIR and Department of Pathology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Stian Foss
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Algirdas Grevys
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Bjørn Dalhus
- Department for Medical Biochemistry, Institute for Clinical Medicine and Department for Microbiology, Clinic for Laboratory Medicine, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - John Wilson
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
| | - Lene S Høydahl
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,KG Jebsen Coeliac Disease Research Centre, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | | | | | - Tilman Schlothauer
- Biochemical and Analytical Research, Large Molecule Research, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Terje E Michaelsen
- Department of Infectious Disease Immunology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0456 Oslo, Norway.,Department of Chemical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Morten C Moe
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0450 Oslo, Norway
| | - Silvia Lombardi
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and LTTA, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Mirko Pinotti
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and LTTA, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Inger Sandlie
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,CIR and Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Alessio Branchini
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and LTTA, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Jan Terje Andersen
- Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0372 Oslo, Norway. .,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lombardi S, Aaen KH, Nilsen J, Ferrarese M, Gjølberg TT, Bernardi F, Pinotti M, Andersen JT, Branchini A. Fusion of engineered albumin with factor IX Padua extends half-life and improves coagulant activity. Br J Haematol 2021; 194:453-462. [PMID: 34109608 PMCID: PMC8362221 DOI: 10.1111/bjh.17559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The short half‐life of coagulation factor IX (FIX) for haemophilia B (HB) therapy has been prolonged through fusion with human serum albumin (HSA), which drives the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn)‐mediated recycling of the chimera. However, patients would greatly benefit from further FIX‐HSA half‐life extension. In the present study, we designed a FIX‐HSA variant through the engineering of both fusion partners. First, we developed a novel cleavable linker combining the two FIX activation sites, which resulted in improved HSA release. Second, insertion of the FIX R338L (Padua) substitution conferred hyperactive features (sevenfold higher specific activity) as for FIX Padua alone. Furthermore, we exploited an engineered HSA (QMP), which conferred enhanced human (h)FcRn binding [dissociation constant (KD) 0·5 nM] over wild‐type FIX‐HSA (KD 164·4 nM). In hFcRn transgenic mice, Padua‐QMP displayed a significantly prolonged half‐life (2·7 days, P < 0·0001) versus FIX‐HSA (1 day). Overall, we developed a novel FIX‐HSA protein with improved activity and extended half‐life. These combined properties may result in a prolonged functional profile above the therapeutic threshold, and thus in a potentially widened therapeutic window able to improve HB therapy. This rational engineering of both partners may pave the way for new fusion strategies for the design of engineered biotherapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Lombardi
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and LTTA Centre, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Kristin H Aaen
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jeannette Nilsen
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Mattia Ferrarese
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and LTTA Centre, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Torleif T Gjølberg
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Francesco Bernardi
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and LTTA Centre, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Mirko Pinotti
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and LTTA Centre, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Jan T Andersen
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alessio Branchini
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology and LTTA Centre, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Christopoulos PF, Gjølberg TT, Krüger S, Haraldsen G, Andersen JT, Sundlisæter E. Targeting the Notch Signaling Pathway in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases. Front Immunol 2021; 12:668207. [PMID: 33912195 PMCID: PMC8071949 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.668207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The Notch signaling pathway regulates developmental cell-fate decisions and has recently also been linked to inflammatory diseases. Although therapies targeting Notch signaling in inflammation in theory are attractive, their design and implementation have proven difficult, at least partly due to the broad involvement of Notch signaling in regenerative and homeostatic processes. In this review, we summarize the supporting role of Notch signaling in various inflammation-driven diseases, and highlight efforts to intervene with this pathway by targeting Notch ligands and/or receptors with distinct therapeutic strategies, including antibody designs. We discuss this in light of lessons learned from Notch targeting in cancer treatment. Finally, we elaborate on the impact of individual Notch members in inflammation, which may lay the foundation for development of therapeutic strategies in chronic inflammatory diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Torleif T. Gjølberg
- Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Centre for Eye Research and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Stig Krüger
- Department of Pathology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Guttorm Haraldsen
- Department of Pathology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jan Terje Andersen
- Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Eirik Sundlisæter
- Department of Pathology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| |
Collapse
|