Pharmacovigilance (PV) activities aim to identify potential risks of medicines and vaccines after they have been authorised in the market by collecting and analysing information on suspected adverse events from different stakeholders. These can be captured and transmitted electronically in the form of Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs). Hence, up-to-date ICSRs management systems, like VigiFlow and signal detection and management systems as VigiLyze, have an important role in the PV system of a country.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe implementation and validation of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG serological assays are reported in this paper. S1 and RBD proteins were used to coat ELISA plates, and several secondary antibodies served as reporters. The assays were initially validated with 50 RT-PCR positive COVID-19 sera, which showed high IgG titers of mainly IgG1 isotype, followed by IgG3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Immune cell counts in blood in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may be useful prognostic biomarkers of disease severity, mortality, and response to treatment.
Objectives: To analyze sub-populations of lymphocytes at hospital admission in survivors and deceased from severe pneumonia due to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of healthcare workers confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 in convalescents (control group) and healthy controls (HC) diagnosed with severe COVID-19.
Technological advances allowed the development of high-throughput instruments such as IntelliCyt iQue Screener PLUS®. Here, we took advantage of this technology to transfer a previously validated cytotoxicity assay. The evaluated parameters were cell permeability, caspase activation and phosphatidyl serine exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe biotherapeutic type I interferons (IFN-I) are indicated to treat several diseases. These products are regulated to guarantee safety and efficacy through critical quality attributes. For this purpose, the development of robust assays is required, followed by its validation to demonstrate their suitability for its intended purpose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development of biotherapeutics requires continuous improvement in analytical methodologies for the assessment of their quality attributes. A subset of biotherapeutics is designed to interact with specific antigens that are exposed on the membranes of target cells or circulating in a soluble form, and effector functions are achieved via recognition of their Fc region by effector cells that induce mechanisms such as antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). Thus, ADCC induction is a critical quality attribute (CQA) that must be evaluated to ensure biotherapeutic efficacy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysicochemical and structural properties of proteins used as active pharmaceutical ingredients of biopharmaceuticals are determinant to carry out their biological activity. In this regard, the assays intended to evaluate functionality of biopharmaceuticals provide confirmatory evidence that they contain the appropriate physicochemical properties and structural conformation. The validation of the methodologies used for the assessment of critical quality attributes of biopharmaceuticals is a key requirement for manufacturing under GMP environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe exposure to certain species of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) can modulate the immune response induced by Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Mycobacterium avium has been postulated as a weak inducer of dendritic cell (DC) maturation. However, how the DC exposure to M.
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