Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose derivatives stabilize fragment antibody against aggregation in spray dried...

The ability to deliver stable and active dried protein therapeutics from biopharmaceutical drug delivery systems is critical for solid dosage formulation development. Spray dried formulations with carefully selected excipients provide a unique opportunity in amorphous phase stabilization of the therapeutic proteins. Herein, we discuss the role of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS) derivatives as polymeric excipients for stabilizing a model fragment antibody (Fab2) during high temperature processing and in possible low pH environments of a drug delivery platform. The effects of high temperature processing and microenvironmental pH sensitivity are of particular interest to us due to their adverse impact on stability of molecules that demonstrate temperature and pH dependent inactivation within drug delivery devices. It appears in solid state at 90 °C and 37 °C and within low pH micro-environment HPMCAS protects protein against aggregation. The high temperature performance of HPMCAS is comparable to that of a disaccharide excipient like trehalose in spray dried protein powder. Simultaneously, inside a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) based delivery system HPMCAS provides protection to a pH sensitive protein against acidic degradation products from aqueous hydrolysis of PLGA.