Patent Application
20200038494
The present disclosure is related to the field of pharmaceutical products. Certain embodiments herein relate to compositions comprising highly-concentrated Alpha-1 Proteinase Inhibitor (A1PI), which can be used for many therapeutic indications, and methods for obtaining the compositions.
Alpha-1-Proteinase inhibitor (A1PI), also known as Alpha-1-Antitrypsin (AAT) or α1-Antitrypsin, is a proteinase inhibitor that acts on a variety of cellular proteases. A1PI plays a major role in tissue homeostasis through the inhibition of neutrophil elastase action, and through other mechanisms.
Congenital deficiencies of A1PI allow uncontrolled activity of neutrophil elastase and the subsequent degradation of elastin, an essential protein that confers elasticity to tissues, particularly the lungs. The absence of elastin may result in respiratory complications such as pulmonary emphysema and hepatic cirrhosis.
Chronic intravenous (IV) administration of A1PI to treat AAT deficiency is burdensome, requires professional assistance (administered in the patient's home or in clinics, hospitals, etc), and can cause immediate hypersensitive reactions. To overcome said problems, a new concentration process and a new formulation have been developed by the inventors for a novel product which comprises highly concentrated A1PI. The concentrated formulation detailed in the invention enables a broader spectrum of parenteral administration, which may include intravenous, subcutaneous, aerosol, and intradermal administration. This product could satisfy the long-standing unmet need to make dosing easier to administer by patients at home, without a supporting healthcare professional, thus reducing treatment costs, and is suitable for chronic treatment.
The inventors of the present invention are not aware of any prior art method for obtaining A1PI with a concentration higher than 100 mg/ml. Attempts to increase the concentration of A1PI using conventional flat cassette tangential flow filtration (TFF) results in generation of unacceptable high level of aggregates even using small amount of buffer salts. The present inventors have surprisingly found that using a modified tangential flow ultrafiltration method that used the same membrane type and molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) as the conventional ultrafiltration/diafiltration (UFDF) step, but operated at reduced flow rates, higher transmembrane pressure (TMP), and larger membrane area to increase flow-path length, could concentrate A1PI to at least 10% (w/v, 100 mg/ml) in a single-pass tangential flow filtration (SPTFF) after it had been diafiltered against water to remove all process salts. The present inventors have surprisingly found that, using a further step of SPTFF against water for injection (WFI), it is possible to obtain a concentration of A1PI of at least 100 mg/ml, and said solution can be subsequent formulated with uncharged excipients to achieve isotonic conditions. This enabled formulation of a concentrated A1PI with uncharged excipients to adjust osmolality, while addressing the previous poor stability performance with charged excipients.
An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a composition comprising Alpha-1 Proteinase Inhibitor (A1PI) in an aqueous solution, wherein the concentration of A1PI is greater than or equal to 100 mg/ml, preferably is greater than or equal to 150 mg/ml, more preferably is greater than or equal to 200 mg/ml.
In some preferred embodiments, the composition comprising A1PI further comprises one or more uncharged excipients. The term “uncharged excipients” mean that no net charge of one or greater is present at near neutral pH with said excipients.
In some preferred embodiments, the one or more uncharged excipients are at a concentration necessary to achieve isotonicity, i.e., between 220 and 410 mOsm/kg H2O, preferably about 300 mOsm/kg H2O.
In some preferred embodiments, the one or more uncharged excipients are selected from the list consisting of amino acids, sugars, and polyols, including sorbitol, serine, trehalose, alanine, sucrose, and mannitol and combinations thereof. More preferable, the one or more uncharged excipients are alanine, sorbitol or trehalose and combinations thereof.
In some preferred embodiments, said uncharged excipient(s) are in the composition at a concentration of approximately 120 mM, to achieve acceptable osmolality.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition can be administered to a patient in need thereof.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising the above-mentioned composition and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is formulated for intravenous, subcutaneous, aerosol, or intradermal administration, preferably for subcutaneous administration.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is encapsulated in nanoparticles or it comprises a time-release polymer.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for preparing the above-mentioned composition, comprising preparing a solution of A1PI by concentrating an initial solution of A1PI by SPTFF.
In some embodiments, a method for preparing a solution of A1PI by SPTFF wherein the final concentration of A1PI is at least 100 mg/ml, preferably at least 150 mg/ml, more preferably at least 200 mg/ml.
In some embodiments, a method for preparing a solution of A1PI by SPTFF is carried out against water for injection (WFI).
In some embodiments, a method for preparing a concentrated solution of A1PI comprises after the SPTFF step a formulation with one or more uncharged excipients selected from the list consisting of sorbitol, serine, trehalose, alanine, sucrose, and mannitol, and combinations thereof. More preferable, the one or more uncharged excipients are alanine, sorbitol or trehalose and combinations thereof.
pH is controlled to near neutral (around 6.6 to 7.4) without the use of buffers, but through adjustment upon addition of formulation excipient(s), and remains stable throughout storage.
Currently, A1PI solutions are commercially available (Prolastin-C, Grifols; Glassia, Shire; Zemaira, CSL; Aralast, Baxter) to treat human congenital deficiency of the protein (Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, AATD). One limitation that all these products have in common is that they contain A1PI at relatively low concentrations (about 20 to 50 mg/ml). For this reason, their only suitable route of administration as a therapeutic has been weekly intravenous injection.
Chronic intravenous administration of A1PI to treat AATD is burdensome, requires professional assistance, and can cause immediate hypersensitive reactions. Therefore, there is a longstanding unmet need to make dosing easier to administer by patients at home without an assisting healthcare professional, which would considerably reduce treatment costs and would make it suitable for chronic treatment. In order to enable a wider range of parenteral administration routes, the concentration of A1PI in the products should be increased. However, it is not possible to produce stable concentrated liquid A1PI based on the current methods of A1PI purification, with existing formulations.
Surprisingly, the inventors found that including an additional step of SPTFF at the end of purification allowed the production of highly-concentrated A1PI of at least 100 mg/ml, preferably at least 150 mg/ml, and most preferably 200 mg/ml. The novelty of this step of the process is that it had to be performed in the absence of buffers and salts, in the presence of WFI and formulated later by addition of one or more uncharged excipients selected from the list consisting of sorbitol, serine, trehalose, alanine, sucrose, and mannitol, and combinations thereof, more preferably alanine, sorbitol or trehalose and combinations thereof. Importantly, the resulting compositions are suitable for human administration since they comply with the values of osmolality, stability, and viscosity required by the regulatory agencies.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a composition comprising A1PI. In some embodiments, the composition comprises A1PI in an aqueous solution. In some embodiments, the concentration of A1PI in the composition is at least 100 mg/ml. In some embodiments, the concentration of A1PI in the composition is 150 mg/ml. In some embodiments, the concentration of A1PI in the composition is ≥200 mg/ml. In some embodiments, the concentration of A1PI in the composition is about 100, 140, 180, 220, 260, 300, 340, 380, 420, 460, or 500 mg/ml, or within a range defined by any two of the aforementioned values.
In some embodiments, a pharmaceutical composition is provided. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises an A1PI solution. In some embodiments, the concentration of A1PI in the solution is at least 100 mg/ml.
In some embodiments, the concentration of A1PI in the solution is about 100 mg/ml to about 500 mg/ml. In some embodiments, the concentration of A1PI in the solution is about 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, or 500 mg/ml, or within a range defined by any two of the aforementioned values.
In some embodiments, the osmolality of the solution is about 220 mOsm/kg to about 410 mOsm/kg. In some embodiments, the osmolality of the solution is about 220, 240, 270, 300, 330, 360, 390 or 410 mOsm/kg, or within a range defined by any two of the aforementioned values.
In some preferred embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition further comprises one or more uncharged excipients selected from the group consisting of amino acids, sugars, and polyols, including sorbitol, serine, trehalose, alanine, sucrose, and mannitol, and combinations thereof, more preferably alanine, sorbitol or trehalose and combinations thereof.
pH is controlled to near neutral (around 6.6 to 7.4) without the use of buffers, but through adjustment upon addition of formulation excipient(s), and remains stable throughout storage.
In some preferred embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises one or more uncharged excipients at a final concentration of about 120 mM to achieve acceptable osmolality.
One or more embodiments of the pharmaceutical composition provided herein can be administered to a patient in need thereof. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is administered intravenously, intradermally, subcutaneously, intramuscular, orally, or a combination thereof.
In some embodiments, other non-limiting routes of administrations are contemplated, for example, parenteral, intrarticular, intrabronchial, intraabdominal, intracapsular, intracartilaginous, intracavitary, intracelial, intracelebellar, intracerebroventricular, intracolic, intracervical, intragastric, intrahepatic, intramyocardial, intraosteal, intrapelvic, intrapericardiac, intraperitoneal, intrapleural, intraprostatic, intrapulmonary, intrarectal, intrarenal, intraretinal, intraspinal, intrasynovial, intrathoracic, intrauterine, intravesical, intralesional, bolus, vaginal, rectal, buccal, sublingual, intranasal, or transdermal.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical compositions provided herein comprise active ingredients, inactive ingredients, excipients, and/or pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. A wide variety of pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are available and well-known in the art. The formulation of pharmaceutical compositions is determined in part by the particular composition being administered as well as by the particular method and/or route used to administer the composition.
Pharmaceutical compositions can comprise aqueous and non-aqueous, isotonic sterile injection solutions, which can comprise antioxidants, buffers, bacteriostats, and solutes that render the composition isotonic with the blood of the intended recipient, and aqueous and non-aqueous sterile suspensions that can include suspending agents, solubilizers, thickening agents, stabilizers, and preservatives.
In some embodiments, one or more embodiments of the pharmaceutical composition provided herein are used to treat one or more of respiratory complications such as pulmonary emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, etc. In some embodiments, one or more embodiments of the pharmaceutical composition provided herein are used to treat hepatic complications such as hepatic cirrhosis. In some embodiments, one or more embodiments of the pharmaceutical composition provided herein are used to treat any disease or condition related to A1PI deficiency, or benefited by augmentation with A1PI.
In some embodiments, a method of preparing a solution of A1PI is provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises concentrating a solution of A1PI in water or with uncharged excipients by conventional flat cassette tangential flow ultrafiltration (TFF). In some embodiments, the final concentration of A1PI in the concentrated solution is as much as 100 mg/ml.
In some embodiments, the method comprises concentrating a solution of A1PI in water or with uncharged excipients by SPTFF, where the final concentration of A1PI in the concentrated solution is about 150 mg/ml to about 500 mg/ml. In some embodiments, the final concentration of A1PI in the concentrated solution is about 150, 180, 200, 220, 260, 300, 340, 380, 420, 460, or 500 mg/ml, or within a range defined by any two of the aforementioned values.
In some preferred embodiments, the solution of A1PI in WFI is obtained by SPTFF.
In some embodiments, a method for preparing a concentrated solution of A1PI comprises, after the SPTFF step, a formulation with one or more uncharged excipients selected from the group consisting of amino acids, sugars, and polyols, including sorbitol, serine, trehalose, alanine, sucrose, and mannitol, and combinations thereof, more preferably alanine, sorbitol or trehalose and combinations thereof.
pH is controlled to near neutral (around 6.6 to 7.4) without the use of buffers, but through adjustment upon addition of formulation excipient(s), and remains stable throughout storage.
In some preferred embodiments, the concentration uncharged excipient in the composition is about 0.12 M, or sufficient to adjust osmolality to isotonicity.
Thus, in some embodiments, alternate methods of administration are employed for such a concentrated A1PI formulation. For example, nano-encapsulation (i.e., encapsulation in nanoparticles) with time-release polymer for intradermal dosing. Such time release polymers for nano-encapsulation are well-known to those skilled in the art. For example, Tran Thi Dat Nguyen (2015), “Synthesis of timed-release polymer nanoparticles,” of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland, available in the espace library of the University of Queensland under DOI 10.14264/uq1.2015.605 describes the use of nanoparticles self-assembled from random thermoresponsive copolymers, such as copolymers of PNIPAM and PDMAEA. The complete disclosure of this article is hereby incorporated by this reference thereto. Other methods are also applicable to achieve safe dosing of highly concentrated A1PI.
Alpha-1 MP (U.S. Pat. No. 6,462,180 B1), Liquid Alpha (U.S. Pat. No. 9,616,126 B1), and Alpha-1 HC (US 20110237781 A1) processes make A1PI up to 50 mg/ml using a typical recirculating (TFF) UF step to concentrate, followed by a diafiltration (DF) step with water to remove buffer salts to prepare bulk for final formulation and adjustment to 50 mg/ml of protein. The formulation consists of a 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer to maintain pH, and either a salt (Alpha-1 MP and Alpha-1 HC; 100 mM or 150 mM NaCl, respectively) or amino acid (Liquid Alpha; 200 to 300 mM alanine) to adjust osmolality to isotonic conditions of 220-410 mOsm/kg. Likewise, other A1PI formulations are similarly prepared (Table 1).
As explained above, the process of the present invention incorporates two additional steps to the above process: SPTFF concentration and formulation, as shown in
The process of the present invention involves a SPTFF concentration with WFI and a formulation with uncharged excipients. Several of the uncharged excipients at 0.12 M concentrations, pH 7.0, as well as low pH or high salt formulation controls, were used to make 20% A1PI solutions and applied to Self-interacting chromatography (SIC) columns produced by conjugating A1PI to a Toyopearl AF-formyl-650M (Tosoh Biosciences) resin, and the retention time recorded. The retention time of the protein was converted to the osmotic second virial coefficient (B22), which is a measure of protein-protein interactions.
Thermal kinetics studies of 20% A1PI formulations at 40° C. measured accelerated aggregation by SE-HPLC over time. A1PI 20% solutions of various 0.12 M excipient formulations (mannitol, alanine, serine, sorbitol, and trehalose) at pH 7.0, along with the control formulation (16 mM sodium phosphate, 60 mM NaCl, pH 7.0), were incubated at 40° C. for 7 days and analyzed by SE-HPLC (
On the other hand, the aggregation was measured by SE-HPLC over time and at different A1PI concentrations in the presence of charged and uncharged excipients. A1PI solutions of
It is understood that subcutaneous dosing is volume constrained, with single-site injections often limited to about 25 mL. Therefore, a higher concentration of A1PI is needed to achieve dosing to prescribed amounts. Current dosing to 60 mg/kg can be achieved, with a 1.2 absorption coefficient (EP 2,214,699 B1), with weekly dosing of 15% A1PI at 2 sites or with 20% A1PI at a single site for the average patient (Table 2).
A method to achieve compositions comprising highly concentrated A1PI, which could be used for many therapeutic indications, includes the application of SPTFF. The SPTFF step would follow the diafiltration step in WFI (
Zeta Potential measurements for A1PI solutions with 0.12 M excipient concentrations were evaluated across various pHs using a Zetasizer. Higher magnitude of zeta potential (≥40 mV or ≤−40 mV) represents better colloidal stability, as molecules that are sufficiently charged tend to be electrostatically repulsive and are less likely to form aggregates in solution. All A1PI formulations tested (
As used herein, the section headings are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the described subject matter in any way. All literature and similar materials cited in this application, including but not limited to, patents, patent applications, articles, books, treatises, and internet web pages are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety for any purpose. When definitions of terms in incorporated references appear to differ from the definitions provided in the present teachings, the definition provided in the present teachings shall control. It will be appreciated that there is an implied “about” prior to the temperatures, concentrations, times, etc. discussed in the present teachings, such that slight and insubstantial deviations are within the scope of the present teachings herein.
In this application, the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise. Also, the use of “comprise”, “comprises”, “comprising”, “contain”, “contains”, “containing”, “include”, “includes”, and “including” are not intended to be limiting.
As used in this specification and claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural references unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.
As used herein, “about” means a quantity, level, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length that varies by as much as 20, 15, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1% to a reference quantity, level, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length.
Although this disclosure is in the context of certain embodiments and examples, those skilled in the art will understand that the present disclosure extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses of the embodiments and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. In addition, while several variations of the embodiments have been shown and described in detail, other modifications, which are within the scope of this disclosure, will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art based upon this disclosure.
It is also contemplated that various combinations or sub-combinations of the specific features and aspects of the embodiments may be made and still fall within the scope of the disclosure. It should be understood that various features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with, or substituted for, one another in order to form varying modes or embodiments of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the present disclosure herein disclosed should not be limited by the particular disclosed embodiments described above.
It should be understood, however, that this detailed description, while indicating preferred embodiments of the disclosure, is given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art.
The terminology used in the description presented herein is not intended to be interpreted in any limited or restrictive manner. Rather, the terminology is simply being utilized in conjunction with a detailed description of embodiments of the systems, methods and related components. Furthermore, embodiments may comprise several novel features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes or is believed to be essential to practicing the embodiments herein described.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62713673 | Aug 2018 | US |
