Development and biophysical characterization of a humanized FSH-blocking monoclonal antibody therapeutic formulated at an ultra-high concentration
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, United States
- Population Council, United States
- Maine Medical Center Research Institute, United States
Abstract
Highly concentrated antibody formulations are oftentimes required for subcutaneous, self-administered biologics. Here, we report the development of a unique formulation for our first-in-class FSH-blocking humanized antibody, MS-Hu6, which we propose to move to the clinic for osteoporosis, obesity, and Alzheimer's disease. The studies were carried out using our Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) platform, compliant with the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 21, Part 58). We first used protein thermal shift, size exclusion chromatography, and dynamic light scattering to examine MS-Hu6 concentrations between 1 and 100 mg/mL. We found that thermal, monomeric, and colloidal stability of formulated MS-Hu6 was maintained at a concentration of 100 mg/mL. The addition of the antioxidant L-methionine and chelating agent disodium EDTA improved the formulation's long-term colloidal and thermal stability. Thermal stability was further confirmed by Nano differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Physiochemical properties of formulated MS-Hu6, including viscosity, turbidity, and clarity, conformed with acceptable industry standards. That the structural integrity of MS-Hu6 in formulation was maintained was proven through Circular Dichroism (CD) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Three rapid freeze-thaw cycles at -80°C/25°C or -80°C/37°C further revealed excellent thermal and colloidal stability. Furthermore, formulated MS-Hu6, particularly its Fab domain, displayed thermal and monomeric storage stability for more than 90 days at 4°C and 25°C. Finally, the unfolding temperature (Tm) for formulated MS-Hu6 increased by >4.80°C upon binding to recombinant FSH, indicating highly specific ligand binding. Overall, we document the feasibility of developing a stable, manufacturable and transportable MS-Hu6 formulation at a ultra-high concentration at industry standards. The study should become a resource for developing biologic formulations in academic medical centers.
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting file; Source Data files have been provided for Figures 1-7.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Institute on Aging (R01 AG071870)
- Se-Min Kim
- Tony Yuen
- Mone Zaidi
National Institute on Aging (R01 AG074092)
- Tony Yuen
- Mone Zaidi
National Institute on Aging (U01AG073148)
- Tony Yuen
- Mone Zaidi
National Institute on Aging (U19 AG060917)
- Clifford J Rosen
- Mone Zaidi
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01 DK113627)
- Mone Zaidi
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P20 GM121301)
- Clifford J Rosen
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Christopher L-H Huang, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Version history
- Received: April 25, 2023
- Preprint posted: May 11, 2023 (view preprint)
- Accepted: June 16, 2023
- Accepted Manuscript published: June 19, 2023 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: July 6, 2023 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2023, Rojekar et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Development and biophysical characterization of a humanized FSH-blocking monoclonal antibody therapeutic formulated at an ultra-high concentration
eLife 12:e88898.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.88898
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