Forced degradation studies have become integral to the development of recombinant monoclonal antibody therapeutics by serving a variety of objectives from early stage manufacturability evaluation to supporting comparability assessments both pre- and post- marketing approval. This review summarizes the regulatory guidance scattered throughout different documents to highlight the expectations from various agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency. The various purposes for forced degradation studies, commonly used conditions and the major degradation pathways under each condition are also discussed.

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Methionine (Met) oxidation is a major modification of proteins, which converts Met to Met sulfoxide as the common product. It is challenging to determine the level of Met sulfoxide, because it can be generated during sample preparation and analysis as an artifact. To determine the level of Met sulfoxide in proteins accurately, an isotope labeling and LC-MS peptide mapping method was developed. Met residues in proteins were fully oxidized using hydrogen peroxide enriched with (18)O atoms before sample preparation. Therefore, it was impossible to generate Met sulfoxide as an artifact during sample preparation. The molecular weight difference of 2 Da between Met sulfoxide with the (16)O atom and Met sulfoxide with the (18)O atom was used to differentiate and calculate the level of Met sulfoxide in the sample originally. Using a recombinant monoclonal antibody as a model protein, much lower levels of Met sulfoxide were detected for the two susceptible Met residues with this new method compared to a typical peptide mapping procedure. The results demonstrated efficient elimination of the analytical artifact during LC-MS peptide mapping for the measurement of Met sulfoxide. This method can thus be used when accurate determination of the level of Met sulfoxide is critical.

Recombinant monoclonal antibody charge heterogeneity has been commonly observed as multiple bands or peaks when analyzed by charge-based analytical methods such as isoelectric focusing electrophoresis and cation or anion exchange chromatography. Those charge variants have been separated by some of the above-mentioned methods and used for detailed characterization. The utility of a combination of OFFGEL fractionation and weak anion exchange chromatography to separate the charge variants of a recombinant monoclonal antibody was demonstrated in the current study. Charge variants were separated into various fractions of high purity and then analyzed thoroughly by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Analysis of intact molecular weights identified the presence of heavy chain leader sequence, C-terminal lysine, and C-terminal amidation. The identified modifications were further localized into different regions of the antibody from analysis of antibody fragments obtained from FabRICATOR digestion. Analysis of tryptic peptides from various fractions further confirmed the previously identified modifications in the basic variants. Asparagine deamidation and aspartate isomerization were identified in acidic fractions from analysis of tryptic peptides. Basic variants have been fully accounted for by the identified modifications. However, only a portion of the acidic variants can be explained by deamidation and isomerization, suggesting that additional modifications are yet to be identified or acidic variants are an ensemble of molecules with different structures.

Process changes are inevitable in the life cycle of recombinant monoclonal antibody therapeutics. Products made using pre- and post-change processes are required to be comparable as demonstrated by comparability studies to qualify for continuous development and commercial supply. Establishment of comparability is a systematic process of gathering and evaluating data based on scientific understanding and clinical experience of the relationship between product quality attributes and their impact on safety and efficacy. This review summarizes the current understanding of various modifications of recombinant monoclonal antibodies. It further outlines the critical steps in designing and executing successful comparability studies to support process changes at different stages of a product's lifecycle.

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Recombinant monoclonal antibodies are commonly expressed in mammalian cell culture and purified by several steps of filtration and chromatography. The resulting high purity bulk drug substance still contains product variants differing in properties such as charge and size. Posttranslational modifications and degradations occurring during cell culture are the major sources of heterogeneity in bulk drug substance of recombinant monoclonal antibodies. The focus of the current review is the impact of cell culture conditions on the types and levels of various modifications and degradations of recombinant monoclonal antibodies. Understanding the relationship between cell culture and product variants can help to make consistently safe and efficacious products. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1103-1112, 2016.

A recombinant monoclonal antibody with trisulfide bonds and cysteinylation was thoroughly characterized in the current study. Trisulfide bonds and cysteinylation were first detected when the recombinant monoclonal antibody was analyzed by LC-MS to determine the molecular weights of the intact antibody and its F(ab')2 fragment generated from IdeS digestion. LC-MS analysis of nonreduced tryptic peptides indicated trisulfide bonds are associated with the interchain disulfide bonds of both A isoform and A/B isoform and cysteinylation is associated only with the A isoform. A low percentage of trisulfide bonds was detected in between the light chain and heavy chain disulfide bond of the A and A/B forms. While the majority of trisulfide bonds and cysteinylation is associated with the hinge region peptide that involves the four closely spaced cysteine residues of the heavy chain. The locations of trisulfide bond and cysteinylation were determined using a combination of Edman sequencing and LC-MS. In the A isoform, the major site of the trisulfide bond and cysteinylation is between the first disulfide bond in the hinge region. In the A/B isoform, the trisulfide was also located in between the disulfide bond that is formed by the second pair of cysteine residues.