Sponsors developing and manufacturing protein therapeutic products use a number of analytical tests (e.g., cell-based potency and chromatographic assays) to assess quality attributes of their active ingredients and drug products. Tests are conducted for a number of purposes, including characterization, comparability, lot release, and confirmation of stability. This two-part article includes the findings of the California Separation Science Society (CASSS) Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) Strategy Forum titled “Reference Standards for Therapeutic Proteins: Current Regulatory and Scientific Best Practices and…
Author Archives: Anthony Mire- Sluis
Reference Standards for Therapeutic Proteins: Current Regulatory and Scientific Best Practices
Sponsors developing and manufacturing protein therapeutic products use a variety of analytical tests (e.g., cell-based potency and chromatographic assays) to assess quality attributes of their active ingredients and drug products. Those tests are used to assess product quality in a number of activities, including characterization, comparability, lot release, and confirmation product quality and stability. Reference standards play a critical role in calibrating and confirming the suitability of such tests and in helping analysts to draw scientifically sound conclusions from data…
New Paradigms for Process Validation
Both the United States and the European Union have recently evolved guidance on how to execute process validation (1, 2) with the prospect of a more appropriate life-cycle approach. It goes beyond the traditional three to five lots run at the center point of proposed ranges for operating parameters. New approaches leverage product design and process development information. They facilitate adapting the quality by design (QbD) paradigm to allow for a science- and risk-based selection of critical process…
Drug Products for Biological Medicines
The California Separation Science Society (CASSS) held a Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) Strategy Forum on drug products for biological medicines in July 2012 in Bethesda, MD. Topics included novel delivery devices, challenging formulations, and combination products. This CMC Strategy Forum aimed to promote an understanding of how best to increase the speed and effectiveness of drug product and device development for both large and small companies. Participants focused on areas that improve the likelihood for regulatory success, reduce risk,…
Drug Products for Biological Medicines
Traditionally, the CaSSS CMC Strategy Forum meetings have provided a scientific focus on the development of biotech drug substances and their manufacture and characterization, leaving the development of drug product formulation and filling, understanding primary containers, and considering novel delivery systems somewhat out of scope. Over recent years, however, the importance of investing more science and technology into drug product development has become evident as different product types, higher protein concentrations, and doses and requirements for improved delivery of biological…
Rapid Pharmaceutical Product Development
A Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) Strategy Forum was held in January 2012 in San Francisco, CA, to examine the topic of rapid pharmaceutical product development. The purpose of this meeting was to promote an understanding of how best to increase the speed of product development, focusing on areas that improve chances of regulatory success while lessening the time it takes to get a product through development and onto the market. Participants also sought to identify and discuss…
Analysis and Immunogenic Potential of Aggregates and Particles
The conclusion of this CMC Forum continued to focus on the latest developments in detection and characterization of protein aggregates (1). Afternoon sessions detailed the most recent experiments probing the role of protein aggregates in immunogenicity, with discussions on the best models to use and initial results. Topics included potential thresholds for immunogenicity, linking laboratory and clinical data, and predicting and testing potential immunogenicity of products throughout a development lifecycle. Afternoon Sessions Amy Rosenberg (Division…
Analysis and Immunogenic Potential of Aggregates and Particles
The number of biotherapeutics on the market has rapidly increased during the past several years. Such proteins commonly exhibit a concentration-dependent propensity for self-association, which often leads to the formation of aggregates that range in size from nanometers (oligomers) to microns (subvisible and visible particles). Publications two years ago focused attention on the potential immunogenicity of active-ingredient aggregates ((1,2,3,4). The authors discussed lack of specificity of compendial measurements and inability of other current methods to address potential effects…
Extractables and Leachables
The 13th WCBP CMC Strategy Forum on extractables and leachables was held in Bethesda, MD, in January 2008. The purpose of this forum, cosponsored by CASSS (an international separations society) and the FDA, was to discuss questions related to extractables and leachables in the context of biopharmaceutical manufacturing and find consensus on some of those topics. Morning sessions began with “Extractables and Leachables: Challenges and Strategies in Biopharmaceutical Development†with program cochairs Stacey Ma of Genentech, Inc., Ingrid…