Mechanistic insights into viral clearance during the chromatography steps in antibody processes by using virus

Rachel Dyer1, Yuanli Song1, Jie Chen1

  • 1Biologics Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Devens, Massachusetts, USA.

Biotechnology Progress
|January 6, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Minute virus of mice (MVM) mock virus particles (MVP) and bacteriophage ΦX174 are effective noninfectious surrogates for viral clearance studies. MVP can be used in biosafety level one (BSL-1) laboratories for chromatography process development, ensuring biological product safety.

Area of Science:

  • Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing
  • Process Development
  • Viral Safety

Background:

  • Ensuring viral safety is critical for biological products.
  • Downstream purification processes are responsible for viral inactivation and removal.
  • Minute virus of mice (MVM) is a robust model virus for clearance studies due to its stability and size.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate MVM-mock virus particle (MVP) and bacteriophage ΦX174 as surrogates for MVM in viral clearance studies.
  • To assess the utility of MVP in chromatography operations within a biosafety level one (BSL-1) laboratory.
  • To investigate the impact of Protein A (ProA) chromatography on viral removal.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of log reduction values (LRVs) between MVM, MVP, and ΦX174.
  • Utilizing structural models for surrogate selection.
  • Performing viral clearance studies across multiple chromatography systems.
  • Investigating Protein A chromatography with varying resins, impurities, and monoclonal antibody products.

Main Results:

  • MVP demonstrated efficacy as a noninfectious surrogate for MVM in viral clearance assessments.
  • MVP and ΦX174 showed comparable performance to MVM in structural models and LRV comparisons.
  • MVP can be safely used in BSL-1 laboratories for process development.
  • Protein A chromatography's impact on viral removal was strategically assessed.

Conclusions:

  • MVP is a suitable noninfectious surrogate for MVM, enabling viral clearance studies in BSL-1 settings.
  • The use of MVP simplifies and enhances the safety of viral clearance validation in bioprocessing.
  • Chromatography operations, particularly Protein A, play a significant role in viral clearance strategies.

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