Anti-drug Antibody Validation Testing and Reporting Harmonization.

Evolving immunogenicity assay performance expectations and a lack of harmonized anti-drug antibody validation testing and reporting tools have resulted in significant time spent by health authorities and sponsors on resolving filing queries. Following debate at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences National Biotechnology Conference, a group was formed to address these gaps. Over the last 3 years, 44 members from 29 organizations (including 5 members from Europe and 10 members from FDA) discussed gaps in understanding immunogenicity assay requirements and have developed harmonization tools for use by industry scientists to facilitate filings to health authorities.

Current state of Alzheimer's fluid biomarkers.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with a complex and heterogeneous pathophysiology. The number of people living with AD is predicted to increase; however, there are no disease-modifying therapies currently available and none have been successful in late-stage clinical trials. Fluid biomarkers measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood hold promise for enabling more effective drug development and establishing a more personalized medicine approach for AD diagnosis and treatment.

Amyloid beta-positive subjects exhibit longitudinal network-specific reductions in spontaneous brain activity.

Amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition and cognitive decline are key features of Alzheimer's disease. The relationship between Aβ status and changes in neuronal function over time, however, remains unclear. We evaluated the effect of baseline Aβ status on reference region spontaneous brain activity (SBA-rr) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

The impact of preanalytical variables on measuring cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis: A review.

Introduction: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers have the potential to improve the diagnostic accuracy of Alzheimer's disease, yet there is a lack of harmonized preanalytical CSF handling protocols.

Methods: This systematic review summarizes the current literature on the influence of preanalytical variables on CSF biomarker concentration. We evaluated the evidence for three core CSF biomarkers: β-amyloid 42, total tau, and phosphorylated tau.

A Multi-site In-depth Evaluation of the Quanterix Simoa from a User's Perspective.

An in-depth evaluation of the Quanterix© Simoa™ platform was undertaken by scientists from the AAPS Emerging Technologies Focus Group to determine the overall performance of the technology as well as provide guidance to future users. In order to test the platform in a non-GLP bioanalytical setting, a cross-site evaluation of the Quanterix IL-6 biomarker kit was performed. Parameters tested during this evaluation included sensitivity, accuracy and precision, and parallelism in human serum from normal individuals.

Concordance Between Different Amyloid Immunoassays and Visual Amyloid Positron Emission Tomographic Assessment.

Importance: Visual assessment of amyloid positron emission tomographic (PET) images has been approved by regulatory authorities for clinical use. Several immunoassays have been developed to measure β-amyloid (Aβ) 42 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The agreement between CSF Aβ42 measures from different immunoassays and visual PET readings may influence the use of CSF biomarkers and/or amyloid PET assessment in clinical practice and trials.

Development of a plug and play ImmunoPCR technique for the analysis of biomolecules.

Aim: ImmunoPCR technology combines the advantages of specificity and robustness of a ligand binding assay with the amplification potential of PCR. We describe through three case studies a plug-and-play immuno polymerase chain reaction (iPCR) technique to measure biomolecules.

Results: Case Study 1 demonstrated feasibility of measurement of IgG1 in cerebrospinal fluid at the desired level of sensitivity with minimal cost and timelines of clinical assay implementation.

Addendum: The antibody aducanumab reduces Aβ plaques in Alzheimer's disease.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/nature21361.

Evidence of activation of the Nrf2 pathway in multiple sclerosis patients treated with delayed-release dimethyl fumarate in the Phase 3 DEFINE and CONFIRM studies.

Background: Delayed-release dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an approved oral treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Preclinical studies demonstrated that DMF activated the nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway. DMF and its primary metabolite monomethyl fumarate (MMF) were also shown to promote cytoprotection of cultured central nervous system (CNS) cells via the Nrf2 pathway.

The antibody aducanumab reduces Aβ plaques in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, accompanied by synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration. Antibody-based immunotherapy against Aβ to trigger its clearance or mitigate its neurotoxicity has so far been unsuccessful. Here we report the generation of aducanumab, a human monoclonal antibody that selectively targets aggregated Aβ.

Evaluation of highly sensitive immunoassay technologies for quantitative measurements of sub-pg/mL levels of cytokines in human serum.

A comprehensive cross-platform and cross-assay evaluation using nine technology platforms and four cytokine immunoassays (IL-6, TNFα, IL-17a, IL-2) was performed by comparing assay precision, sensitivity, parallelism and data correlation between platforms. The precision was acceptable for most evaluated assays. In addition to comparing the analytical assay sensitivity using a spiked recombinant analyte in buffer, forty serum samples from both normal controls and multiple sclerosis patients were used to measure the frequency of endogenous analyte detection (FEAD) as a parameter of each assay's ability to detect the endogenous analyte.

First-in-human, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose escalation study of aducanumab (BIIB037) in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Aducanumab (BIIB037), a human monoclonal antibody selective for aggregated forms of amyloid beta, is being investigated as a disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled single ascending-dose study investigated the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of aducanumab in patients with mild-to-moderate AD. Eligible patients were sequentially randomized 6:2 to aducanumab (0.

Pharmacokinetics of daclizumab high-yield process with repeated administration of the clinical subcutaneous regimen in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Background: Daclizumab high-yield process (DAC HYP), a humanized immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody specific for the α subunit (CD25) of the high-affinity interleukin-2 receptor, has demonstrated efficacy for treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis in Phase II and III clinical trials.

Objective: To characterize the pharmacokinetics (PK) of DAC HYP following repeated administration of the 150 mg subcutaneous (SC) dose every 4 weeks (q4wk), the proposed clinical regimen in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Methods: Twenty-six patients with RRMS received DAC HYP 150 mg SC q4wk for a total of six doses.

Recommendations for the development and validation of confirmatory anti-drug antibody assays.

Identification and characterization of anti-drug antibodies is a critical component of biopharmaceutical drug development. The tiered approach for immunogenicity testing consists of screening, confirmatory, and characterization assays. Herein, we provide recommendations for confirmatory assays by expanding upon published guidance and present common practices across the industry.

Emerging technologies to increase ligand binding assay sensitivity.

Ligand binding assays (LBAs) have been the method of choice for protein analyte measurements for more than four decades. Over the years, LBA methods have improved in sensitivity and achieved larger dynamic ranges by using alternative detection systems and new technologies. As a consequence, the landscape and application of immunoassay platforms has changed dramatically.

2013 White Paper on recent issues in bioanalysis: 'hybrid'--the best of LBA and LCMS.

The 2013 7th Workshop on Recent Issues in Bioanalysis was held in Long Beach, California, USA, where close to 500 professionals from pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, CROs and regulatory agencies convened to discuss current topics of interest in bioanalysis. These 'hot' topics, which covered both small and large molecules, were the starting point for fruitful exchanges of knowledge, and sharing of ideas among speakers, panelists and attendees. The discussions led to specific recommendations pertinent to bioanalytical science.

Novel data analysis methods to overcome cut point challenges and enable comprehensive assessment of antidrug binding activity in confirmatory assays.

Immunogenicity assessments in response to drug treatment are commonly performed using a tiered approach strategy. All samples are initially tested in a screening assay followed by the evaluation of the screened positive samples in a confirmatory assay. Percent inhibition of signal intensity by the competing unlabeled drug in a confirmatory assay is typically used to measure the specificity of antidrug binding activity in samples, and has been successfully applied to most immunogenicity assays.

Solution ELISA as a platform of choice for development of robust, drug tolerant immunogenicity assays in support of drug development.

Humanized monoclonal antibody therapeutics are in many ways indistinguishable from the anti-therapeutic/anti-drug antibodies generated in humans. Therefore, immunogenicity assessments to such therapeutics pose unique challenges in clinical trials especially when significant drug interference is encountered. There are several technology platforms based on the bridging immunogenicity assay format, which have been successfully used for detection and quantification of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) in serum or plasma samples.

Proteomic patterns for classification of ovarian cancer and CTCL serum samples utilizing peak pairs indicative of post-translational modifications.

Proteomic patterns as a potential diagnostic technology has been well established for several cancer conditions and other diseases. The use of machine learning techniques such as decision trees, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and other methods has been the basis for pattern determination. Cancer is known to involve signaling pathways that are regulated through PTM of proteins.

A robust biomarker discovery pipeline for high-performance mass spectrometry data.

A high-throughput software pipeline for analyzing high-performance mass spectral data sets has been developed to facilitate rapid and accurate biomarker determination. The software exploits the mass precision and resolution of high-performance instrumentation, bypasses peak-finding steps, and instead uses discrete m/z data points to identify putative biomarkers. The technique is insensitive to peak shape, and works on overlapping and non-Gaussian peaks which can confound peak-finding algorithms.

Phosphopeptide analysis by directly coupling two-dimensional planar electrochromatography/thin-layer chromatography with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

A novel strategy is presented for the fractionation of complex peptide mixtures using two-dimensional planar electrochromatography/thin-layer chromatography (2D PEC/TLC). Phosphopeptides migrate more slowly in the first dimension, based upon their anionic phosphate residues, and certain predominantly acidic phosphopeptides even migrate in the opposite direction, relative to the bulk of the peptides. Phosphopeptides are further distinguished based upon hydrophilicity in the second dimension.

A novel, high-throughput workflow for discovery and identification of serum carrier protein-bound peptide biomarker candidates in ovarian cancer samples.

Background: Most cases of ovarian cancer are detected at later stages when the 5-year survival is approximately 15%, but 5-year survival approaches 90% when the cancer is detected early (stage I). To use mass spectrometry (MS) of serum proteins for early detection, a seamless workflow is needed that provides an opportunity for rapid profiling along with direct identification of the underpinning ions.

Methods: We used carrier protein-bound affinity enrichment of serum samples directly coupled with MALDI orthagonal TOF MS profiling to rapidly search for potential ion signatures that contained discriminatory power.

Performance validation of an improved Xenon-arc lamp-based CCD camera system for multispectral imaging in proteomics.

Advances in gel-based nonradioactive protein expression and PTM detection using fluorophores has served as the impetus for developing analytical instrumentation with improved imaging capabilities. We describe a CCD camera-based imaging instrument, equipped with both a high-pressure Xenon arc lamp and a UV transilluminator, which provides broad-band wavelength coverage (380-700 nm and UV). With six-position filter wheels, both excitation and emission wavelengths may be selected, providing optimal measurement and quantitation of virtually any dye and allowing excellent spectral resolution among different fluorophores.

High-resolution serum proteomic profiling of Alzheimer disease samples reveals disease-specific, carrier-protein-bound mass signatures.

Background: Researchers typically search for disease markers using a "targeted" approach in which a hypothesis about the disease mechanism is tested and experimental results either confirm or disprove the involvement of a particular gene or protein in the disease. Recently, there has been interest in developing disease diagnostics based on unbiased quantification of differences in global patterns of protein and peptide masses, typically in blood from individuals with and without disease. We combined a suite of methods and technologies, including novel sample preparation based on carrier-protein capture and biomarker enrichment, high-resolution mass spectrometry, a unique cohort of well-characterized persons with and without Alzheimer disease (AD), and powerful bioinformatic analysis, that add statistical and procedural robustness to biomarker discovery from blood.