Today’s technology has not only changed the way we receive information, but has continually adapted and progressed how we acquire information. The analysis of metals in pharmaceutical actives (API), raw material, and drug products has changed as well. ICP-MS/OES has emerged as a critical analytical platform for this analysis. 

Abeona Therapeutics, Inc. is a fully-integrated gene and cell therapy company at the forefront of the rapidly-advancing field of genetic medicine. Their late-stage candidate, EB-101, is an autologous, ex-vivo, gene-corrected cell therapy poised to enter a Phase 3 clinical trial for Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB).

Read this case study to learn how Alcami's extensive experience with small and large molecule development services, regulatory compliance, and specialty techniques helpedensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of raw materials used in Abeona's EB-101 manufacturing batches.

Alcami’s St. Louis, Missouri Center of Excellence for advanced analytical testing was issued a Certificate of Compliance by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Tuesday, April 23, 2019, following the facility’s recent successful Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspection. Certification confirms the site is compliant with GMP laboratory storage and testing practices, and enables the laboratory to process more commercial products for the European Union (EU). The outcome reflects the company’s unwavering commitments to quality, reliability, responsible operations, and strict adherence to regulatory compliance.

Biopharmaceutical products represent up to 20 percent of the total pharmaceutical market and are growing at a rate of nearly eight percent annually. To keep up with this impressive growth rate, many contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) are making strategic investments in equipment and expertise to support analytical development and structural characterization of biopharmaceuticals in more economical and efficient ways.^[1]

Unlike small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that exist as a single chemical entity, biologics nearly always exist as a mixture of molecules. Different molecules can arise from numerous sources including N-terminal variants, post-translation modifications (PTMs), glycoforms, and degradation products. Due to the potentially high amount of heterogeneity in the biologic, it is critical to demonstrate control over the drug substance (DS) manufacturing process from fermentation to purification and protein re-folding. Characterization of the various molecules is the first step in demonstrating process control. High-resolution mass spectrometry is a key component in the characterization of novel biologics and biosimilars.

The biologics market represents the leading edge of novel therapeutics and is the fastest growing cross-section of the pharmaceutical industry—by some accounts, increasing as much as eight percent annually, or twice the growth rate of small molecule therapeutics. With advancements in DNA technology and increasing investments in personalized medicine, the sky is the limit for the biologics industry. This Q&A with biologics expert, Cheryl Johnson, will address the most common questions asked about this rapidly growing therapeutic field.

Over the years, the US Pharmacopeia (USP), International Harmonisation (ICH), Product Quality Research Institute (PQRI), and several other industry consortia have developed guidelines and best practices for these extractables & leachables studies.

Alcami has specialized knowledge of the most common materials of construction such as platinum-cured silicon, halobutyl rubber, cyclic olefins, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and other elastomers. Vial and stopper configurations, spray pumps, and intravenous (IV) bags are among the most common packaging system components we evaluate. We welcome all routes of administration, including the more challenging prefilled syringes, blow-fill sealed vials, and laminated cans.

The US Pharmacopeia (USP) retired the existing wet chemistry heavy metals methods outlined in USP General Chapter <231> with an instrument-based approach on January 1, 2018. Though the existing wet chemistry methods have been in effect for nearly 100 years, the methods were non-specific and frequently failed to detect or underestimate the presence of some toxic elements that are potentially present in pharmaceutical ingredients. 

Throughout this guidebook, Alcami scientists will discuss heavy metal regulations, moving to a risk-based approach, the role of risk assessment in the manufacturing process, goals and accountability, and agency-accepted testing and filing strategy for elemental impurities. 

Agency expectations are quickly evolving for the evaluation of drug product packaging and delivery systems and the surfaces used during manufacture with respect to potential leachables. Every new and generic drug product must be assessed for extractables and leachables (E&L). In this top five list, Alcami experts will address the extractables and leachables questions our experts hear most.

1. What is the difference between an extractable and a leachable?

Extractables are compounds that can be extracted from a packaging component, delivery system, or manufacturing surface via laboratory manipulation, such as exposure to solvents or heat. Extractables can be potential leachables. Leachables are compounds that passively migrate into the drug product over time, as a result of direct contact from the packaging system, in-use componentry, or a manufacturing surface.

The new elemental impurities regulations stress the importance of controlling all sources of elemental impurities in drug products. The regulations also impact all upcoming and current commercial drug products for human use. To comply with these regulations, it is critical to have an efficient, cost-effective, and agency-accepted approach.

Elemental impurities can contaminate or leach into a drug product from multiple sources (i.e. drug substance, excipients, water, equipment, and container closure systems), therefore, it is no longer acceptable to monitor the inlet raw materials only. A conservative risk-based approach is recommended, which should address all potential sources of elemental impurities. If it can be demonstrated that the elemental impurities present in the drug product are under control (less than the control threshold for three lots), then analysis at release is not needed. 

In 2016, the not-for-profit Australian biopharmaceutical company Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH) came to Alcami to initiate work on moxidectin, a novel new drug for the treatment of river blindness (onchocerciasis). The project utilized Alcami’s advanced analytical testing services and industry-leading accelerated turnaround time offering to meet critical New Drug Application (NDA) filing timelines. Now, the two companies are exploring new opportunities to help eliminate neglected tropical diseases that affect over 2 billion of the world’s most disadvantaged people.

Read this case study to learn more about how Alcami’s advanced analytical testing technology center supported MDGH's moxidectin’s US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.