Bioanalytical considerations in the comparability assessment of biotherapeutics

Comparison of biotherapeutic products before and after manufacturing changes is required to show that the products are highly similar. Besides in vitro assessment on the critical quality attributes and potency, biocomparability studies are sometimes required to demonstrate similarities in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics. The complex and diverse nature of biotherapeutics requires multifaceted considerations in the biocomparability study design, bioanalytical measurements of drug concentrations and/or pharmacodynamic responses, immunogenicity analysis, data interpretation and decision making. A major perspective is to understand the structure and biological functions of the biotherapeutics in relation to the indication. Issues of a common standard and the importance of the use of ligand-binding assays that are sensitive to structural changes are discussed. It would not be possible to use the same process and one-size-fit-all criteria for biocomparability studies of all biologics. Previous examples from industry and our experience of the bioanalytical considerations for fit-for-purpose pharmacokinetic support and immunogenicity assessments are presented.