RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Manufacturing of High-Concentration Monoclonal Antibody Formulations via Spray Drying—the Road to Manufacturing Scale
JF PDA Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology
JO PDA J Pharm Sci Technol
FD Parenteral Drug Association (PDA)
SP 59
OP 73
DO 10.5731/pdajpst.2015.01003
VO 69
IS 1
A1 Benson Gikanga
A1 Robert Turok
A1 Ada Hui
A1 Mayumi Bowen
A1 Oliver B. Stauch
A1 Yuh-Fun Maa
YR 2015
UL http://journal.pda.org/content/69/1/59.abstract
AB Spray-dried monoclonal antibody (mAb) powders may offer applications more versatile than the freeze-dried cake, including preparing high-concentration formulations for subcutaneous administration. Published studies on this topic, however, are generally scarce. This study evaluates a pilot-scale spray dryer against a laboratory-scale dryer to spray-dry multiple mAbs in consideration of scale-up, impact on mAb stability, and feasibility of a high-concentration preparation. Under similar conditions, both dryers produced powders of similar properties—for example, water content, particle size and morphology, and mAb stability profile—despite a 4-fold faster output by the pilot-scale unit. All formulations containing arginine salt or a combination of arginine salt and trehalose were able to be spray-dried with high powder collection efficiency (>95%), but yield was adversely affected in formulations with high trehalose content due to powder sticking to the drying chamber. Spray-drying production output was dictated by the size of the dryer operated at an optimal liquid feed rate. Spray-dried powders could be reconstituted to high-viscosity liquids, >300 cP, substantially beyond what an ultrafiltration process can achieve. The molar ratio of trehalose to mAb needed to be reduced to 50:1 in consideration of isotonicity of the formulation with mAb concentration at 250 mg/mL. Even with this low level of sugar protection, long-term stability of spray-dried formulations remained superior to their liquid counterparts based on size variant and potency data. This study offers a commercially viable spray-drying process for biological bulk storage and an option for high-concentration mAb manufacturing. LAY ABSTRACT: This study evaluates a pilot-scale spray dryer against a laboratory-scale dryer to spray-dry multiple monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from the perspective of scale-up, impact on mAb stability, and feasibility of a high-concentration preparation. The data demonstrated that there is no process limitation in solution viscosity when high-concentration mAb formulations are prepared from spray-dried powder reconstitution compared with concentration via the conventional ultrafiltration process. This study offers a commercially viable spray-drying process for biological bulk storage and a high-concentration mAb manufacturing option for subcutaneous administration. The outcomes of this study will benefit scientists and engineers who develop high-concentration mAb products by providing a viable manufacturing alternative.