FDA Approves Phase 1 Clinical Trials for NewLink Genetics' Ebola Vaccine

The companies will develop a platform that can enable rapid development of DPI products.

Metabolic Flux Analysis (MFA) is a powerful technique used to characterize metabolic phenotype driving to improved productivity in biomanufacturing. MFA is most powerful when absolute concentrations of the metabolic intermediates are measured, but doing so in practice is often impractical due to inherent limitations of conventional absolute quantitation by mass spectral analysis. Recently, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have been applied to solving the problem of broad, untargeted, absolute quantitation in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). These new approaches extend readily to the determination of absolute concentrations of stable isotopically-labeled metabolic intermediates, offering a new tool for MFA. Dr Sam Yenne from Metalytics Inc., a company that specializes in the science of metabolic flux, has recently assessed and adopted Pyxis, a new tool for absolute quantitation of raw LC-MS data. Dr Yenne describes MFA, its utility in biopharmaceutical development, associated challenges and how Pyxis impacts those challenges.

Transcriptional activity within a cell can be used to evaluate cell response to a ligand or promoter activity within a transgene or plasmid within a cell. Catalent has developed a relative potency bioassay using real-time quantitative reverse transcription (RT-qPCR) in a duplex format to assess relative transcription activity in cells treated with ligands or transgenic vectors. The assay utilizes two fluorescent dyes with minimally overlapping emission spectra that allow real-time monitoring of the gene expression of both target and normalizer genes. The assay does not require purification of the mRNA produced by the cells once lysis has occurred. Normalizing the qPCR cycle thresholds (CT) of the target transcript to the reference transcript allows response curve to be generated and compared to a reference standard. The generation of a four-parameter fit curve analysis from raw qPCR cycle threshold data allows for comparison of relative potency and assessment of suitability based on curve parallelism. The assay platform has been used by Catalent to qualify a repeatable, accurate, linear, and specific bioassay for assessing relative potency.

The nexus between biopharmaceuticals and sustainability is seemingly far apart, however, it is increasingly recognized as an inevitable challenge. It is encouraged to take a sustainable approach to reducing the environmental impact of the production and supply of medicines while improving people's health; delivering the well-being of people and the planet. Yosuke Shimojo (Technical Value Support Section Manager, Nagase Viita) will unveil how SOLBIOTE™, a portfolio of injectable-grade saccharide excipients, would be a key for the biopharmaceutical development and achieving sustainability for a better future of the industry.

Transcriptional activity within a cell can be used to evaluate cell response to a ligand or promoter activity within a transgene or plasmid within a cell. Catalent has developed a relative potency bioassay using real-time quantitative reverse transcription (RT-qPCR) in a duplex format to assess relative transcription activity in cells treated with ligands or transgenic vectors. The assay utilizes two fluorescent dyes with minimally overlapping emission spectra that allow real-time monitoring of the gene expression of both target and normalizer genes. Notably, the assay simplifies the process by eliminating the need for mRNA purification, enabling more efficient and accurate analysis. Normalizing the qPCR cycle thresholds (CT) of the target transcript to the reference transcript allows the response curve to be generated and compared to a reference standard. The generation of a four-parameter fit curve analysis from raw qPCR cycle threshold data allows for the comparison of relative potency and assessment of suitability based on curve parallelism. Catalent has successfully implemented this assay platform to develop a reliable, accurate, and specific bioassay. It stands out for its linear response and reproducibility, making it a valuable tool for evaluating the relative potency of various test substances. Join us to explore how these robust cell-based potency assays can enhance your research and provide critical data on drug product potency.

Biophysical characterization is critical to understand the make-up and behaviors of biologic therapies and vaccines, both early in development and throughout the manufacturing scale-up process. As biologics become more complex in structure, and as scientists improve their understanding of the effects of structure on stability, efficacy, safety, etc., there is a need to develop new and improved analytical methods to characterize biologic products. During this presentation, experts will discuss the latest challenges in biophysical characterization and will present solutions to overcome these challenges.