Thermally induced degradation pathways of three different antibody-based drug development candidates.

Protein-based medicinal products are prone to undergo a variety of chemical and physical degradation pathways. One of the most important exogenous stress condition to consider during manufacturing, transport and storage processes is temperature, because antibody-based therapeutics are only stable in a limited temperature range. In this study, three different formats of antibody-based molecules (IgG1, a bispecific scFv and a fab fragment) were exposed to thermal stress conditions occurring during transport and storage.

A new bioassay for the immunocytokine L19-IL2 for simultaneous analysis of both functional moieties.

Currently, cancer directed new biological entities (NBEs) in the pharmaceutical R&D pipelines are derived from monoclonal antibodies in various formats, such as immunocytokines. Generally, immunocytokines are bi-functional molecules that consist of a specific targeting antibody-based portion and a linked cytokine. To confirm the quality of the drug product both moieties have to be characterized using appropriate techniques.

Rapid diagnostic method for quantitative testing of <100 microbes in water.

A robust, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) system to universally detect microbes at a limit of 10 to 50 colony-forming units within 5-6 h was developed. Pre-treatment of RT-PCR master mixes with ethidiumbromide monoacide (EMA) facilitates the development of an RT-PCR assay with appropriate sensitivity, reproducibility, and recovery.The system is useful to replace conventional microbial plating techniques for the analysis of microbial contamination in liquids like water.

Apolipoprotein E2/E2 genotype in combination with mutations in the LDL receptor gene causes type III hyperlipoproteinemia.

The primary genetic cause of type III hyperlipoproteinemia is the homozygous presence of the apolipoprotein E2 allele. However, only approximately 1% of subjects with the apolipoprotein E2/E2 genotype develop type III hyperlipoproteinemia. Other factors are therefore necessary to express type III hyperlipoproteinemia.