Introduction: Discrepancies have been previously reported for one-stage clotting and chromogenic assays for FVIII activity analysis. Inter-laboratory variations in instruments, method of clot detection, assay set-up, reference standard calibration, reagent source and reagent composition all contribute to assay variability. Aim: To characterise multilaboratory assay variability in measuring ADYNOVATE, OBIZUR and ADVATE FVIII activity in human plasma and survey multinational FVIII activity assay preferences. Methods: As samples from patients treated with either of the FVIII products are not available in the quantities required for a systematic collaborative study, haemophilia A plasma was spiked in vitro with either ADYNOVATE (PEGylated rFVIII), OBIZUR [Porcine Sequence Antihaemophilic Factor (Recombinant)] or ADVATE at high (0.80 IU or U mL ) and low (0.05 IU or U mL À1 ) FVIII concentrations, based on labelled potencies. Clinical laboratories used their routine FVIII activity assay to determine FVIII activity of each product. Thirty-five data sets using one-stage clotting assay and 11 sets using chromogenic assay were obtained. Results: A vast majority of laboratories (98%) prefer and rely on the one-stage clotting assay. Mean recoveries across all concentrations were 113%, 120% and 127% for ADYNOVATE, OBIZUR and ADVATE respectively. Assay variation was comparable between ADVATE, ADYNOVATE and OBIZUR with inter-laboratory percent coefficients of variation (%CV) ranging from 11 to 22%. Mean chromogenic assay results were 116%, 51% and 113% for ADYNOVATE, OBIZUR and ADVATE respectively. Inter-laboratory CV's were similar for ADYNOVATE, OBIZUR and ADVATE. Conclusions: One-stage clotting assays can and will be used with sufficient accuracy and precision for the measurement of ADYNOVATE, OBIZUR and ADVATE in plasma samples from subjects with haemophilia A. Chromogenic assay underestimates OBIZUR potency, particularly at lower concentrations.

Obizur is a highly purified recombinant porcine FVIII drug product that has been demonstrated to have a favourable safety and efficacy profile when compared with Hyate:C and can be a valuable treatment option for control of bleeding in AHA patients.

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Multifunctional ligands with agonist bioactivities at μ/δ opioid receptors (MOR/DOR) and antagonist bioactivity at the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) have been designed and synthesized. These peptide-based ligands are anticipated to produce better biological profiles (e.g., higher analgesic effect with significantly less adverse side effects) compared to those of existing drugs and to deliver better synergistic effects than coadministration of a mixture of multiple drugs. A systematic structure–activity relationship (SAR) study has been conducted to find multifunctional ligands with desired activities at three receptors. It has been found that introduction of Dmt (2,6-dimethyl-tyrosine) at the first position and NMePhe at the fourth position (ligand 3: H-Dmt-D-Ala-Gly-NMePhe-Pro-Leu-Trp-NH-Bn(3′,5′-(CF3)2)) displays binding as well as functional selectivity for MOR over DOR while maintaining efficacy, potency, and antagonist activity at the NK1R. Dmt at the first position with Phe(4-F) at the fourth position (ligand 5: H-Dmt-D-Ala-Gly-Phe(4-F)-Pro-Leu-Trp-NH-Bn(3′,5′-(CF3)2)) exhibits balanced binding affinities at MOR and DOR though it has higher agonist activity at DOR over MOR. This study has led to the discovery of several novel ligands including 3 and 5 with excellent in vitro biological activity profiles. Metabolic stability studies in rat plasma with ligands 3, 5, and 7 (H-Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Phe(4-F)-Pro-Leu-Trp-NH-Bn(3′,5′-(CF3)2)) showed that their stability depends on modifications at the first and fourth positions (3: T1/2 > 24 h; 5: T1/2 ≈ 6 h; 7: T1/2 > 2 h). Preliminary in vivo studies with these two ligands have shown promising antinociceptive activity.

There is an unmet clinical need for curative therapies to treat neurodegenerative disorders. Most mainstay treatments currently on the market only alleviate specific symptoms and do not reverse disease progression. The Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), an endogenous neuropeptide hormone, has been extensively studied as a potential regenerative therapeutic. PACAP is widely distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) and exerts its neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects via the related Class B GPCRs PAC1, VPAC1, and VPAC2, at which the hormone shows roughly equal activity. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) also activates these receptors, and this close analogue of PACAP has also shown to promote neuronal survival in various animal models of acute and progressive neurodegenerative diseases. However, PACAP’s poor pharmacokinetic profile (non-linear PK/PD), and more importantly its limited blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability has hampered development of this peptide as a therapeutic. We have demonstrated that glycosylation of PACAP and related peptides promotes penetration of the BBB and improves PK properties while retaining efficacy and potency in the low nanomolar range at its target receptors. Furthermore, judicious structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies revealed key motifs that can be modulated to afford compounds with diverse selectivity profiles. Most importantly, we have demonstrated that select PACAP glycopeptide analogues (2LS80Mel and 2LS98Lac) exert potent neuroprotective effects and anti-inflammatory activity in animal models of traumatic brain injury and in a mild-toxin lesion model of Parkinson’s disease, highlighting glycosylation as a viable strategy for converting endogenous peptides into robust and efficacious drug candidates.

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The search for efficacious treatment of neurodegenerative and progressive neuroinflammatory diseases continues, as current therapies are unable to halt or reverse disease progression. PACAP represents one potential therapeutic that provides neuroprotection effects on neurons, and also modulates inflammatory responses and circulation within the brain. However, PACAP is a relatively long peptide hormone that is not trivial to synthesize. Based on previous observations that the shortened isoform PACAP1–23 is capable of inducing neuroprotection in vitro, we were inspired to synthesize shortened glycopeptide analogues of PACAP1–23. Herein, we report the synthesis and in vitro characterization of glycosylated PACAP1–23 analogues that interact strongly with the PAC1 and VPAC1 receptors, while showing reduced activity at the VPAC2 receptor.

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