Recommendations regarding technical standards for follow-on biologics: comparability, similarity, interchangeability

Polymorphic distribution of proteins in solution by mass spectrometry: The analysis of insulin analogues

The characterization of conformational and oligomeric distribution of proteins is of paramount importance for the understanding of the correlation between structure and function. Among the bioanalytical approaches currently available, the electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) coupled to ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is the best suited for high resolution identification with high sensitivity, allowing the in situ separation of oligomeric and conformational species. We tested the performance of the ESI-MS technique along with the IMS separation approach on a broad variety of insulin and insulin analogues with distinct oligomeric distribution pattern. The measurement of commercial insulin allowed the identification of species ranging from monomers to hexamers and their complexes with zinc ions. Dissimilar distribution profile for regular insulin as a function of formulation component and among the insulin analogues were observed by ESI-IMS-MS but not by ESI-MS along, crystallographic assays or size-exclusion chromatography. These data suggest the additional suitability of ESI-IMS-MS in conformational and oligomeric profiling of biomacromolecules and biopharmaceuticals. The easiness of the technique provides further motivation for its application in the characterization of both raw and formulated protein biopharmaceuticals in routine and comparability exercises.

Biosimilar insulins: a European perspective

Biosimilar insulins are likely to enter clinical practice in Europe in the near future. It is important that clinicians are familiar with and understand the concept of biosimilarity and how a biosimilar drug may differ from its reference product. The present article provides an overview of biosimilars, the European regulatory requirements for biosimilars and safety issues. It also summarizes the current biosimilars approved in Europe and the key clinical issues associated with the use of biosimilar insulins.

The utility of hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry in biopharmaceutical comparability studies

The function, efficacy, and safety of protein biopharmaceuticals are tied to their three-dimensional structure. The analysis and verification of this higher-order structure are critical in demonstrating manufacturing consistency and in establishing the absence of structural changes in response to changes in production. It is, therefore, essential to have reliable, high-resolution and high sensitivity biophysical tools capable of interrogating protein structure and conformation. Here, we demonstrate the use of hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (H/DX-MS) in biopharmaceutical comparability studies. H/DX-MS measurements can be conducted with good precision, consume only picomoles of protein, interrogate nearly the entire molecule with peptide level resolution, and can be completed in a few days. Structural comparability or lack of comparability was monitored for different preparations of interferon-β-1a. We present specific graphical formats for the display of H/DX-MS data that aid in rapidly making both the qualitative (visual) and quantitative assessment of comparability. H/DX-MS is capable of making significant contributions in biopharmaceutical characterization by providing more informative and confidant comparability assessments of protein higher-order structures than are currently available within the biopharmaceutical industry.

Conformation and dynamics of biopharmaceuticals: transition of mass spectrometry-based tools from academe to industry

Mass spectrometry plays a very visible role in biopharmaceutical industry, although its use in development, characterization, and quality control of protein drugs is mostly limited to the analysis of covalent structure (amino acid sequence and post-translational modifications). Despite the centrality of protein conformation to biological activity, stability, and safety of biopharmaceutical products, the expanding arsenal of mass spectrometry-based methods that are currently available to probe higher order structure and conformational dynamics of biopolymers did not, until recently, enjoy much attention in the industry. This is beginning to change as a result of recent work demonstrating the utility of these experimental tools for various aspects of biopharmaceutical product development and manufacturing. In this work, we use a paradigmatic protein drug interferon beta-1a as an example to illustrate the utility of mass spectrometry as a powerful tool not only to assess the integrity of higher order structure of a protein drug, but also to predict consequences of its degradation at a variety of levels.