Publications by authors named "John G Aunins"

Advances in microbiome therapeutics have been motivated by a deeper understanding of the role that the gastrointestinal microbiome plays in human health and disease. The FDA approval of two stool-derived live biotherapeutic products (LBPs), REBYOTA® 150 mL enema (fecal microbiota, live-jslm; formerly RBX2660) and VOWST® oral capsules (fecal microbiota spores, live-brpk; formerly SER-109), for the prevention of recurrent CDI in adults following antibiotic treatment for recurrent CDI provides promise and insights for the development of LBPs for other diseases associated with microbiome dysfunction. Donor-derived products carry risk of disease transmission that must be mitigated through a robust donor screening program and downstream manufacturing controls.

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Background: Although fecal microbiota transplant has been used to prevent recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI), documented pathogen transmissions highlight inherent safety risks of minimally processed stool. We describe manufacturing processes for fecal microbiota spores, live (VOWST; VOS, formerly SER-109), a microbiota-based oral therapeutic of Firmicutes spores.

Methods: Bacterial inactivation kill curves were obtained after ethanol exposure for 4 model organisms spiked into process intermediates.

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Research leading to characterization, quantification, and functional attribution of the microbes throughout the human body has led to many drug-development programs. These programs aim to manipulate a patient's microbiome through the addition of new strains or functions, the subtraction of deleterious microbes, or the rebalancing of the existing population through various drug modalities. Here, we present a general overview of those modalities with a specific focus on bacterial live biotherapeutic products (LBPs).

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Article Synopsis
  • - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could pose a threat to patients receiving microbiome therapies if manufacturing and safety protocols are inadequate.
  • - The study focuses on SER-109, an investigational microbiome therapy designed to lower the chance of recurrence of certain conditions.
  • - Research shows that the manufacturing process for SER-109 can effectively inactivate porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, which serves as a model for understanding SARS-CoV-2 risks.
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Background: Current therapies for recurrent infection do not address the disrupted microbiome, which supports spore germination into toxin-producing bacteria. SER-109 is an investigational microbiome therapeutic composed of purified Firmicutes spores for the treatment of recurrent infection.

Methods: We conducted a phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in which patients who had had three or more episodes of infection (inclusive of the qualifying acute episode) received SER-109 or placebo (four capsules daily for 3 days) after standard-of-care antibiotic treatment.

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Background & Aims: Firmicutes bacteria produce metabolites that maintain the intestinal barrier and mucosal immunity. Firmicutes are reduced in the intestinal microbiota of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). In a phase 1b trial of patients with UC, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of SER-287, an oral formulation of Firmicutes spores, and the effects of vancomycin preconditioning on expansion (engraftment) of SER-287 species in the colon.

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Background: Recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI) is associated with loss of microbial diversity and microbe-derived secondary bile acids, which inhibit C. difficile germination and growth. SER-109, an investigational microbiome drug of donor-derived, purified spores, reduced recurrence in a dose-ranging, phase (P) 1 study in subjects with multiple rCDIs.

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Background: Patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) have a ≥60% risk of relapse, as conventional therapies do not address the underlying gastrointestinal dysbiosis. This exploratory study evaluated the safety and efficacy of bacterial spores for preventing recurrent CDI.

Methods: Stool specimens from healthy donors were treated with ethanol to eliminate pathogens.

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As the market requirements for adenovirus vectors (AdV) increase, the maximization of the virus titer per culture volume per unit time is a key requirement. However, despite the fact that 293 cells can grow up to 8 x 10(6) cell/mL in simple batch mode operations, for optimal AdV infection a maximum cell density of 1 x 10(6) cell/mL at infection time has usually been utilized due to the so called "cell density effect". In addition, AdV titer appears to be dependent upon cell cycle phase at the time of infection.

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Recombinant adenoviruses are efficient gene delivery vectors that are being evaluated in many gene therapy and vaccine applications. Methods for rapid production of ca. 10(12)-10(13) virus particles (VPs) are desired to enable rapid initial evaluation of such vectors.

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Adenovirus vectors have attracted considerable interest over the past decade, with ongoing clinical development programs for applications ranging from replacement therapy for protein deficiencies to cancer therapeutics to prophylactic vaccines. Consequently, considerable product, process, analytical, and formulation development has been undertaken to support these programs. For example, "gutless" vectors have been developed in order to improve gene transfer capacity and durability of expression; new cell lines have been developed to minimize recombination events; production conditions have been optimized to improve volumetric productivities; analytical techniques and scaleable purification processes have advanced towards the goal of purified adenovirus becoming a "well-characterized biological"; and liquid formulations have been developed which maintain virus infectivity at 2-8 degrees C for over 18 months.

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PER.C6 cells were cultivated for propagation of a replication-defective adenovirus vector in serum-free suspension bioreactors. Cellular metabolism during cell growth and adenovirus propagation was fully characterized using on-line and off-line methods.

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Pluronic F-68 (PF-68) is routinely used as a shear-protection additive in mammalian cell cultures. However, most previous studies of its shear protection mechanisms have typically been qualitative in nature and have not covered a wide range of PF-68 and cell concentrations. In this study, interactions between air bubbles along with the associated cell damage were investigated using the novel adenovirus-producing cell line PER.

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First-generation adenovectors have been developed for gene therapy and vaccine applications. The construction of these adenovectors has entailed the use of numerous types of expression cassettes. It has long been known that first-generation adenovectors can be rescued more easily and to higher titers with some transgenes than with others.

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Large-scale propagation of replication-defective adenovirus vectors has not been well studied to date. One of the challenges for efficient propagation at large scale is to overcome the sensitivity of virus infected cells to gas sparging required for oxygenation and CO(2) removal. In our initial experiments, it was observed that productivity of an adenovirus vector was significantly reduced under sparging conditions as compared to nonsparged, i.

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Cultivation of MRC-5 cells and attenuated hepatitis A virus (HAV) for the production of VAQTA, an inactivated HAV vaccine (1), is performed in the CellCube reactor, a laminar flow fixed-bed bioreactor with an unusual diamond-shaped, diverging-converging flow geometry. These disposable bioreactors have found some popularity for the production of cells and gene therapy vectors at intermediate scales of operation (2, 3). Early testing of the CellCube revealed that the fluid mechanical environment played a significant role in nonuniform cell distribution patterns generated during the cell growth phase.

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PER.C6(R) cell growth, metabolism, and adenovirus production were studied in head-to-head comparisons in stirred bioreactors under different pH conditions. Cell growth rate was found to be similar in the pH range of 7.

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In this paper the fundamental aspects of process development for the production of core and virus-like particles with baculovirus infected insect cells are reviewed. The issues addressed include: particle formation and monomer composition, chemical and physical conditions for optimal cell growth, baculovirus replication and product expression, multiplicity of infection strategy, and scale-up of the process. Study of the differences in the metabolic requirements of infected and non-infected cells is necessary for high cell density processes.

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Synopsis of recent research by authors named "John G Aunins"

  • - John G Aunins focuses on the development of microbiome therapeutics, particularly the safety and efficacy of donor-derived products like SER-109 and VOWST, aimed at treating recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections and other microbiome-related disorders.
  • - Recent studies emphasize the importance of robust manufacturing processes and donor screening protocols to minimize risks of pathogen transmission associated with donor stool in microbiome therapies.
  • - Aunins explores various drug modalities aiming to manipulate the human microbiome, highlighting advancements in bacterial live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) that enhance microbial diversity and improve patient outcomes in conditions like ulcerative colitis.