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Biosimilars are biologic products that are highly similar to a licensed reference product in terms of quality, safety, and efficacy. SB5 is a biosimilar of Humira® (adalimumab) developed by Samsung Bioepis. To demonstrate its biosimilarity in quality to Humira®, we performed a comprehensive characterization in terms of structure, physicochemical properties, and biological properties following the International Conference on Harmonization, US Food and Drug Administration, and European Medicines Agency guidelines. We analyzed all available batches of SB5 and more than 100 EU- and US-sourced lots of Humira® using state-of-the-art methods whenever possible, and compared the two sets of data. The structural properties comprised primary and higher-order structures and N-glycosylation. The physicochemical characteristics were categorized into liquid chromatographic patterns and electrophoretic pattern concerning size and charge heterogeneity. The biological properties were examined by in vitro functional assays. Overall, SB5 and Humira® were shown to be similar to each other in terms of quality attributes. For some of the quality attributes, minor differences were observed. However, the observed differences have been adequately addressed and demonstrated these do not translate into clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety, purity, and potency.

Background: Biologics, regardless of whether they are biosimilars or reference products, are inherently variable due to their size, complexity, and the manufacturing process involved to produce them. Since a drift or evolution of quality attributes of a biologic may impact its clinical safety or efficacy, it is critical for the manufacturer to carefully control the manufacturing process and monitor the quality attributes of a biologic. Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the quality profile of the SB5 drug product has been consistent over its production history from 2013 to 2022. SB5 is a biosimilar referencing adalimumab (Humira, trademark of AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd) and SB5 has been approved by 14 regulatory authorities including the European Commission in August 2017 (brand name Imraldi™) and the US Food and Drug Administration in July 2019 (brand name Hadlima™). Methods: A total of 93 SB5 drug product batches manufactured between 2013 and 2022 were analyzed for a series of release parameters to evaluate the consistency in their critical quality attributes including purity, charge variants, and functional activities (TNF-α binding activity and TNF-α neutralizing potency). Results: The purity, charge variants, and functional activities of all batches were consistent over time and within the stringent acceptance criteria defined by regulatory agencies to ensure the safety and efficacy of SB5. Conclusion: The data presented in this study provide evidence that the quality of SB5 has remained consistent and tightly controlled even through process changes such as manufacturing site transfers and change in formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]