Occupational Exposure Risks When Working with Protein Therapeutics and the Development of a Biologics Banding System

Background: As the pharmaceutical industry advances its understanding of biological processes and how they relate to (the causes and treatments of) disease, many new modalities such as protein therapeutics (PTs) are emerging as breakthrough therapies to treat both rare and common diseases. As PTs become more prevalent, occupational health and safety professionals are challenged with identifying potential occupational exposure risks, health hazards, and assessing best practice recommendations for workers who develop, manufacture, and administer PTs. Methods: To characterize airborne exposures to PTs, we conducted a retrospective analysis of industrial hygiene (IH) data for PTs spanning >15 years. This information was used to support the development of an occupational exposure control banding system designed for and applicable to biologically derived PTs (produced in living cells). Overall, 403 IH samples were evaluated that included exposure data for monoclonal antibodies, fusion proteins, PEGylated proteins, and surrogates. Results: Our evaluation of historical IH PT sample data indicated low exposure potential across manufacturing activities with >99% (400/403) being below an airborne concentration of 1 μg/m³. Processes with the highest potential for airborne exposure included high-energy operations (e.g., homogenization) and maintenance activities (e.g., cleaning and repairs). Conclusion: The observed low exposure potential is expected given that many biological manufacturing activities are closed to maintain product sterility. This evaluation indicated that the banding systems historically utilized for small molecules could benefit from being revisited for PTs.