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Ozer I, Slezak A, Sirohi P, Li X, Zakharov N, Yao Y, Everitt JI, Spasojevic I, Craig SL, Collier JH, Campbell JE, D'Alessio DA, Chilkoti A. An injectable PEG-like conjugate forms a subcutaneous depot and enables sustained delivery of a peptide drug. Biomaterials 2023; 294:121985. [PMID: 36630826 PMCID: PMC10918641 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Many biologics have a short plasma half-life, and their conjugation to polyethylene glycol (PEG) is commonly used to solve this problem. However, the improvement in the plasma half-life of PEGylated drugs' is at an asymptote because the development of branched PEG has only had a modest impact on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Here, we developed an injectable PEG-like conjugate that forms a subcutaneous depot for the sustained delivery of biologics. The PEG-like conjugate consists of poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate] (POEGMA) conjugated to exendin, a peptide drug used in the clinic to treat type 2 diabetes. The depot-forming exendin-POEGMA conjugate showed greater efficacy than a PEG conjugate of exendin as well as Bydureon, a clinically approved sustained-release formulation of exendin. The injectable depot-forming exendin-POEGMA conjugate did not elicit an immune response against the polymer, so that it remained effective and safe for long-term management of type 2 diabetes upon chronic administration. In contrast, the PEG conjugate induced an anti-PEG immune response, leading to early clearance and loss of efficacy upon repeat dosing. The exendin-POEGMA depot also showed superior long-term efficacy compared to Bydureon. Collectively, these results suggest that an injectable POEGMA conjugate of biologic drugs that forms a drug depot under the skin, providing favorable pharmacokinetic properties and sustained efficacy while remaining non-immunogenic, offers significant advantages over other commonly used drug delivery technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Imran Ozer
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Anna Slezak
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Parul Sirohi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Xinghai Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Nikita Zakharov
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Yunxin Yao
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jeffrey I Everitt
- Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ivan Spasojevic
- Duke School of Medicine, Department of Medicine-Oncology, Durham, NC, USA; Duke Cancer Institute, PK/PD Core Laboratory, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Joel H Collier
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jonathan E Campbell
- Duke Molecular Physiology Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Division of Endocrinology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - David A D'Alessio
- Duke Molecular Physiology Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Division of Endocrinology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ashutosh Chilkoti
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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