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Dahmana N, Destruel PL, Facchetti S, Braun V, Lebouc V, Marin Z, Patel S, Schwach G. Reversible protein complexes as a promising avenue for the development of high concentration formulations of biologics. Int J Pharm 2023; 648:123616. [PMID: 37977291 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.123616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
High concentration formulations have become an important pre-requisite in the development of biological drugs, particularly in the case of subcutaneous administration where limited injection volume negatively affects the administered dose. In this study, we propose to develop high concentration formulations of biologics using a reversible protein-polyelectrolyte complex (RPC) approach. First, the versatility of RPC was assessed using different complexing agents and formats of therapeutic proteins, to define the optimal conditions for complexation and dissociation of the complex. The stability of the protein was investigated before and after complexation, as well as upon a 4-week storage period at various temperatures. Subsequently, two approaches were selected to develop high concentration RPC formulations: first, using up-concentrated RPC suspensions in aqueous buffers, and second, by generating spray-dried RPC and further resuspension in non-aqueous solvents. Results showed that the RPC concept is applicable to a wide range of therapeutic protein formats and the complexation-dissociation process did not affect the stability of the proteins. High concentration formulations up to 200 mg/mL could be achieved by up-concentrating RPC suspensions in aqueous buffers and RPC suspensions in non-aqueous solvents were concentrated up to 250 mg/mL. Although optimization is needed, our data suggests that RPC may be a promising avenue to achieve high concentration formulations of biologics for subcutaneous administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoual Dahmana
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, PTD Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Pierre-Louis Destruel
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, PTD Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Samantha Facchetti
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, PTD Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Vanessa Braun
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, PTD Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Vanessa Lebouc
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, PTD Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Zana Marin
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, PTD Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sulabh Patel
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, PTD Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Gregoire Schwach
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, PTD Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
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Allmendinger A, Lebouc V, Bonati L, Woehr A, Kishore RSK, Abstiens K. Glass Leachables as a Nucleation Factor for Free Fatty Acid Particle Formation in Biopharmaceutical Formulations. J Pharm Sci 2020; 110:785-795. [PMID: 33035535 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2020.09.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Surfactants are essential components in protein formulations protecting them against interfacial stress. One of the current industry-wide challenges is enzymatic degradation of parenteral surfactants such as polysorbate 20 (PS20) and polysorbate 80, which leads to the accumulation of free fatty acids (FFAs) potentially forming visible particles over the drug product shelf-life. While the concentration of FFAs can be quantified, the time point of particle formation remains unpredictable. In this work, we studied the influence of glass leachables as nucleation factors for FFA particle formation. We demonstrate the feasibility of nucleation of FFA particles in the presence of inorganic salts like NaAlO2 and CaCl2 simulating relevant glass leachables. We further demonstrate FFA particle formation depending on relevant aluminum concentrations. FFA particle formation was subsequently confirmed with lauric/myristic acid in the presence of different quantities and compositions of glass leachables obtained by several sterilization cycles using different types of glass vials. We further verified the formation of particles in aged protein formulation containing degraded PS20 through the spiking of glass leachables. Particles were characterized as a complex of glass leachables, such as aluminum and FFAs. Based on our findings, we propose a likely pathway for FFA particle formation that considers specific nucleation factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Allmendinger
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, Pharma Technical Development Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Grenzacherstr. 124, CH-4070 Basel.
| | - Vanessa Lebouc
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, Pharma Technical Development Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Grenzacherstr. 124, CH-4070 Basel
| | - Lucia Bonati
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, Pharma Technical Development Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Grenzacherstr. 124, CH-4070 Basel
| | - Anne Woehr
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, Pharma Technical Development Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Grenzacherstr. 124, CH-4070 Basel
| | - Ravuri S K Kishore
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, Pharma Technical Development Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Grenzacherstr. 124, CH-4070 Basel
| | - Kathrin Abstiens
- Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, Pharma Technical Development Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Grenzacherstr. 124, CH-4070 Basel
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