Gregor Jordan

Mathematical simulations for bioanalytical assay development: the (un-)necessity and (im-)possibility of free drug quantification

For every drug development program it needs to be discussed whether discrimination between free and total drug concentrations is required to accurately describe its pharmacokinetic behavior. This perspective describes the application of mathematical simulation approaches to guide this initial decision based on available knowledge about target biology, binding kinetics and expected drug concentrations. We provide generic calculations that can be used to estimate the necessity of free drug quantification for different drug molecules. In addition, mathematical approaches are used to simulate various assay conditions in bioanalytical ligand-binding assays: it is demonstrated that due to the noncovalent interaction between the binding partners and typical assay-related interferences in the equilibrium, a correct quantification of the free drug concentration is highly challenging and requires careful design of different assay procedure steps.

Quantification of a bifunctional drug in the presence of an immune response: a ligand-binding assay specific for ‘active’ drug

AIM During development of biologics, safety and efficacy assessments are often hampered by immune responses to the treatment. The raised antidrug antibodies (ADA) might interfere with the bioanalytical method and complicate result interpretation if non-fully characterized bioanalytical methods were applied. METHODS Here, we report an approach to characterize a ligand-binding assay (LBA) for the quantification of active drug exposure of a bifunctional therapeutic protein in the presence of antidrug antibodies, by correlating LBA results with those of a cell-based PK assay. RESULTS A clear correlation between both assays could be observed when monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against the toxin moiety of the drug were used as ADA surrogates, and results were confirmed with human ADA-positive sera. CONCLUSION The observed correlation between the LBA-based and cell-based PK assay indicated the suitability of the developed LBA for the determination of active drug exposure in the presence of an immune response.

Immunogenicity, Inflammation, and Lipid Accumulation in Cynomolgus Monkeys Infused with a Lipidated Tetranectin-ApoA-I Fusion Protein

High density lipoprotein (HDL)-targeted therapies, which promote cholesterol efflux from cells, are currently in development for reducing cardiovascular events in acute coronary syndrome. Human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the major HDL protein, was fused to the trimerization domain of tetranectin (TN) and complexed with phospholipids to generate a HDL mimetic (lipidated TN-ApoA-I) with reduced renal clearance and enhanced efficacy. Cynomolgus monkeys received 24-h intravenous infusions of control, 100 mg/kg or 400 mg/kg lipidated TN-ApoA-I every 4 days for 3 weeks, followed by a 6-week recovery period. After multiple infusions of lipidated TN-ApoA-I, clinical condition deteriorated and was accompanied by changes indicative of a progressive inflammatory response; increased levels of cytokines, C-reactive protein and vascular/perivascular infiltrates in multiple tissues. Rapid formation of antidrug antibodies occurred in all animals receiving lipidated TN-ApoA-I. Enhanced drug clearance corresponding to a relative lack of high molecular weight immune complexes in blood, suggestive of preferred removal/clearance, was observed in some animals. Expected dose-dependent increases in serum lipids were accompanied by vacuolated monocytes/macrophages in multiple organs, which in the glomeruli were shown to be CD68-positive, contain lipid and co-localized with granular IgG deposits. Lipid accumulation may have been a direct result of a high drug load, possibly enhanced by immune complex formation, inflammation, and altered lipid metabolism. Noteworthy was the inter- individual inconsistency in the severity of clinical and histopathologic findings, drug clearance and inflammatory markers. In conclusion, multiple infusions of lipidated TN-ApoA-I resulted in high immunogenicity, lipid accumulation and were not well tolerated in nonhuman primates.

Platform switching from ELISA to Gyrolab™: a novel generic reagent omits the need to change critical reagents

During development of biotherapeutics, availability of specific assay reagents is usually limited. The possibility to switch from one ligand binding assay technology to another, while using the same reagents, would be desirable. Here, we report on an Alexa647(®)-labeled monoclonal antibody against digoxigenin (mAb-Alexa647(®)) that enables the detection of digoxigenylated analyte-specific ELISA reagents by Gyrolab(™). In an analysis of non-monoclonal antibody (mAb) and mAb drugs, this approach maintained the dynamic range, accuracy and precision of the standard Gyrolab™ approach using analyte-specific Alexa647(®)-labeled Ab. In a rat PK study, results of our approach, standard Gyrolab™ and ELISA were comparable, with difference values within the incurred sample reanalysis acceptance criteria. Therefore, mAb-Alexa647(®) enables an easy switch between ELISA and Gyrolab™, providing an effective way to benefit from both platforms.