Caffeine as a Viscosity Reducer for Highly Concentrated Monoclonal Antibody Solutions. 2021

Yuhong Zeng, and Timothy Tran, and Philip Wuthrich, and Subhashchandra Naik, and Juan Davagnino, and Daniel G Greene, and Robert P Mahoney, and David S Soane
ReForm Biologics Inc., 12 Gill Street Suite 4650, Woburn, MA 01801, United States. Electronic address: yzeng@reformbiologics.com.

Many monoclonal antibody (mAb) solutions exhibit high viscosity at elevated concentrations, which prevents manufacturing and injecting of concentrated mAb drug products at the small volumes needed for subcutaneous (SC) administration. Addition of excipients that interrupt intermolecular interactions is a common approach to reduce viscosity of high concentration mAb formulations. However, in some cases widely used excipients can fail to lower viscosity. Here, using infliximab and ipilimumab as model proteins, we show that caffeine effectively lowers the viscosity of both mAb formulations, whereas other common viscosity-reducing excipients, sodium chloride and arginine, do not. Furthermore, stability studies under accelerated conditions show that caffeine has no impact on stability of lyophilized infliximab or liquid ipilimumab formulations. In addition, presence of caffeine in the formulations does not affect in vitro bioactivities of infliximab or ipilimumab. Results from this study suggest that caffeine could be a useful viscosity reducing agent that complements other traditional excipients and provides viscosity reduction to a wider range of mAb drug products.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D002110 Caffeine A methylxanthine naturally occurring in some beverages and also used as a pharmacological agent. Caffeine's most notable pharmacological effect is as a central nervous system stimulant, increasing alertness and producing agitation. It also relaxes SMOOTH MUSCLE, stimulates CARDIAC MUSCLE, stimulates DIURESIS, and appears to be useful in the treatment of some types of headache. Several cellular actions of caffeine have been observed, but it is not entirely clear how each contributes to its pharmacological profile. Among the most important are inhibition of cyclic nucleotide PHOSPHODIESTERASES, antagonism of ADENOSINE RECEPTORS, and modulation of intracellular calcium handling. 1,3,7-Trimethylxanthine,Caffedrine,Coffeinum N,Coffeinum Purrum,Dexitac,Durvitan,No Doz,Percoffedrinol N,Percutaféine,Quick-Pep,Vivarin,Quick Pep,QuickPep
D004339 Drug Compounding The preparation, mixing, and assembly of a drug. (From Remington, The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 19th ed, p1814). Drug Formulation,Drug Preparation,Drug Microencapsulation,Pharmaceutical Formulation,Compounding, Drug,Formulation, Drug,Formulation, Pharmaceutical,Microencapsulation, Drug,Preparation, Drug
D005079 Excipients Usually inert substances added to a prescription in order to provide suitable consistency to the dosage form. These include binders, matrix, base or diluent in pills, tablets, creams, salves, etc. Excipient,Stabilizing Agent,Stabilizing Agents,Suspending Agent,Suspending Agents,Agent, Stabilizing,Agent, Suspending,Agents, Stabilizing,Agents, Suspending
D000911 Antibodies, Monoclonal Antibodies produced by a single clone of cells. Monoclonal Antibodies,Monoclonal Antibody,Antibody, Monoclonal
D012996 Solutions The homogeneous mixtures formed by the mixing of a solid, liquid, or gaseous substance (solute) with a liquid (the solvent), from which the dissolved substances can be recovered by physical processes. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed) Solution
D014783 Viscosity The resistance that a gaseous or liquid system offers to flow when it is subjected to shear stress. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed) Viscosities

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