Translating the Manufacture of Immunotherapeutic PLGA Nanoparticles from Lab to Industrial Scale: Process Transfer and In Vitro Testing

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems are known to offer a plethora of potential therapeutic benefits. However, challenges related to large-scale manufacturing, such as the difficulty of reproducing complex formulations and high manufacturing costs, hinder their clinical and commercial development. In this context, a reliable manufacturing technique suitable for the scale-up production of nanoformulations without altering efficacy and safety profiles is highly needed. In this paper, we develop an inline sonication process and adapt it to the industrial scale production of immunomodulating PLGA nanovaccines developed using a batch sonication method at the laboratory scale. The investigated formulations contain three distinct synthetic peptides derived from the carcinogenic antigen New York Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1) together with an invariant natural killer T-cell (iNKT) activator, threitolceramide-6 (IMM60). Process parameters were optimized to obtain polymeric nanovaccine formulations with a mean diameter of 150 ± 50 nm and a polydispersity index <0.2. Formulation characteristics, including encapsulation efficiencies, release profiles and in vitro functional and toxicological profiles, are assessed and statistically compared for each formulation. Overall, scale-up formulations obtained by inline sonication method could replicate the colloidal and functional properties of the nanovaccines developed using batch sonication at the laboratory scale. Both types of formulations induced specific T-cell and iNKT cell responses in vitro without any toxicity, highlighting the suitability of the inline sonication method for the continuous scale-up of nanomedicine formulations in terms of efficacy and safety.