Stability and Biosimilarity Assessment of Bevacizumab Monoclonal Antibody; Orthogonal Testing Protocol Coupled With Peptide Mapping-Principal Component Analysis

Abstract

Background: Biologics are essential in cancer treatment because they stimulate the body's natural response to fight cancer, but they are expensive. Biosimilars are more affordable compared to patent biologicals, but it must be verified that they are as effective as their innovators. Characterization of biosimilars and assessment of interchangeability requires many data points for verification.

Objective: The proposed study provides a quality assessment of two new bevacizumab (BVZ) biosimilars, produced by Amgen and Biocad, Inc., through the development and greenness assessment of an orthogonal testing protocol and purity indicating assay, including size-exclusion (SE-HPLC), reversed-phase (RP-HPLC), and cation exchange chromatography (CEX-HPLC) in addition to dynamic light scattering (DLS) and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).

Methods: SE-HPLC method was performed and validated to screen the BVZ monomer and its aggregates and/or fragments. Peak purity and system suitability parameters were calculated. Results indicate that the orthogonal protocol is a useful tool for assessing monoclonal antibody stability. It is a key criterion for biosimilarity assessment. DLS and SDS-PAGE results were compared to each other to reveal close retention times and banding patterns between BVZ innovator and its biosimilars. These results showed that Avastin® and the investigated biosimilars have the same profile in terms of peak area of related compounds within the acceptance limit and apparent molecular weight, and the SDS-PAGE technique was found to be the most eco-friendly technique among others.

Conclusions: The results obtained highlighted the importance of assessing similarities and differences in ensuring the biosimilarity and interchangeability of the studied products.

Highlights: BVZ is one of the essential monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). BVZ biosimilars were evaluated by developing an orthogonal testing protocol and a purity-indicating assay. The size-exclusion (SE)-HPLC method was applied and validated to monitor the BVZ monomer and its aggregates. The results demonstrated the importance of assessing the stability and biosimilarity of BVZ.