Molecular and biologic characterization of recombinant interferon-alpha2b

Recombinant IFN-alpha2b (Intron A, Schering-Plough Corp, Kenilworth, NJ), derived from Escherichia coli, is currently approved worldwide for the therapy of various cancers and chronic hepatitis B and C. We describe here the purity and identity tests for both physicochemical properties and bioactivity that have been developed for the characterization of highly purified IFN-alpha2b with a specific activity of 2.5 x 10(8) IU/mg protein. The data indicate that a product of high purity can be consistently produced without DNA contamination. The antiviral bioassay chosen to measure potency is based on the ability of IFN-alpha2b to protect human foreskin fibroblast FS-71 cells from the cytopathic effects of encephalomyocarditis virus. Various immunoassays are described that have been used to quantitate the presence of binding and neutralizing antibodies in patients treated with IFN-alpha2b. Overall, the available data indicate a very low incidence of neutralizing antibody formation. We also summarize the current state of knowledge with respect to IFN reference standards for the biologic assay as well as recommendations for the calculation of antibody neutralization titers.