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The present work describes the development and validation of a first report including several non-invasive NMR schemes to identify parameters as local chemical environments, homo- and heteronuclear site-specific spin correlations, diffusion coefficient-dependent polydispersity indexes and quantification of identified peptide entities that composes a commercial human Dialyzable Leucocyte Extract (DLE), Transferon, an oral liquid formulation of low-molecular-weight peptides. The above parameters were useful indicators to verify reproducibility, consistency and homogeneity among the DLE batches manufactured at Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facilities and for batch-releasing purposes in a quality control laboratory. The results showed that peptide identity of the DLE is represented with both high reproducible one-dimensional proton spectra and diffusion coefficient distributions that predicts in turn a weight-average molecular weight of around 6.7-7.4 kDa and a mean polydispersity index of 1.13. The obtained NMR peptide fingerprint of the analyzed DLE allowed to i) confirm its structural homogeneity by line-shape analysis, ii) identify and quantify its peptide content within the total solution with qNMR methods iii) to confirm the robustness of the technique as a feasible alternative for routine analysis of Natural or non-Natural Complex Drugs, such as DLEs.

Complex pharmaceuticals are in demand of competent analytical methods able to analyze charge heterogeneity as a critical quality attribute (CQA), in compliance with current regulatory expectations. A notorious example is glatiramer acetate (GA), a complex polypeptide mixture useful for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. This pharmaceutical challenges the current state of analytical technology in terms of the capacity to study their constituent species. Thus, a strong cation exchange methodology was designed under the lifecycle approach to support the establishment of GA identity, trough the evaluation of its chromatographic profile, which acts as a charge heterogeneity fingerprint. In this regard, a maximum relative margin of error of 5% for relative retention time and symmetry factor were proposed for the analytical target profile. The methodology met the proposed requirements after precision and specificity tests results, the former comprised of sensitivity and selectivity. Subsequently, method validation was conducted and showed that the method is able to differentiate between intact GA and heterogeneity profiles coming from stressed, fractioned or process-modified samples. In summary, these results provide evidence that the method is adequate to assess charge heterogeneity as a CQA of this complex pharmaceutical.

Physicochemical and structural properties of proteins used as active pharmaceutical ingredients of biopharmaceuticals are determinant to carry out their biological activity. In this regard, the assays intended to evaluate functionality of biopharmaceuticals provide confirmatory evidence that they contain the appropriate physicochemical properties and structural conformation. The validation of the methodologies used for the assessment of critical quality attributes of biopharmaceuticals is a key requirement for manufacturing under GMP environments. Herein we present the development and validation of a flow cytometry-based methodology for the evaluation of adalimumab’s affinity towards membrane-bound TNFα (mTNFα) on recombinant CHO cells. This in vitro methodology measures the interaction between an in-solution antibody and its target molecule onto the cell surface through a fluorescent signal. The characteristics evaluated during the validation exercise showed that this methodology is suitable for its intended purpose. The assay demonstrated to be accurate (r 2 = 0.92, slope = 1.20), precise (%CV ≤ 18.31) and specific (curve fitting, r 2 = 0.986–0.997) to evaluate binding of adalimumab to mTNFα. The results obtained here provide evidence that detection by flow cytometry is a viable alternative for bioassays used in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, this methodology could be standardized for the evaluation of other biomolecules acting through the same mechanism of action.

Human dialyzable leukocyte extracts (DLEs) are heterogeneous mixtures of low-molecular-weight peptides that modulate immune responses in various diseases. Due their complexity, standardized methods to identify their physicochemical properties and determine that production batches are biologically active must be established. We aimed to develop and validate a size exclusion ultra performance chromatographic (SE-UPLC) method to characterize Transferon™, a DLE that is produced under good manufacturing practices (GMPs). We analyzed an internal human DLE standard and 10 representative batches of Transferon™, all of which had a chromatographic profile characterized by 8 main peaks and a molecular weight range between 17.0 and 0.2kDa. There was high homogeneity between batches with regard to retention times and area percentages, varying by less than 0.2% and 30%, respectively, and the control chart was within 3 standard deviations. To analyze the biological activity of the batches, we studied the ability of Transferon™ to stimulate IFN-γ production in vitro. Transferon™ consistently induced IFN-γ production in Jurkat cells, demonstrating that this method can be included as a quality control step in releasing Transferon™ batches. Because all analyzed batches complied with the quality attributes that were evaluated, we conclude that the DLE Transferon™ is produced with high homogeneity.