1. Beyond affinity: selection of antibody variants with optimal biophysical properties and reduced immunogenicity from mammalian display libraries
- Author
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Rajika L. Perera, Edward W. Masters, Gordana Wozniak-Knopp, Maheen Sattar, Nels Thorsteinson, Johanna L Syrjanen, Kothai Parthiban, Philip C Jones, Deividas Pazeraitis, Florian Rueker, Michael R. Dyson, Rachael A. Leah, Sachin Surade, and John McCafferty
- Subjects
Immunology ,Cell ,Antibody Affinity ,Computational biology ,Yeast display ,Bococizumab ,Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Genome editing ,Report ,medicine ,Humans ,Immunology and Allergy ,antibody aggregation ,Gene ,Selection (genetic algorithm) ,030304 developmental biology ,0303 health sciences ,Mammalian display ,antibody discovery ,polyreactivity ,biology ,gene editing ,Chemistry ,Immunogenicity ,biophysical antibody screening ,antibody half-life ,HEK293 Cells ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,biology.protein ,antibody developability ,Antibody ,Cell Surface Display Techniques ,polyspecificity ,pharmacokinetics - Abstract
The early phase of protein drug development has traditionally focused on target binding properties leading to a desired mode of therapeutic action. As more protein therapeutics pass through the development pipeline; however, it is clear that non-optimal biophysical properties can emerge, particularly as proteins are formulated at high concentrations, causing aggregation or polyreactivity. Such late-stage “developability” problems can lead to delay or failure in traversing the development process. Aggregation propensity is also correlated with increased immunogenicity, resulting in expensive, late-stage clinical failures. Using nucleases-directed integration, we have constructed large mammalian display libraries where each cell contains a single antibody gene/cell inserted at a single locus, thereby achieving transcriptional normalization. We show a strong correlation between poor biophysical properties and display level achieved in mammalian cells, which is not replicated by yeast display. Using two well-documented examples of antibodies with poor biophysical characteristics (MEDI-1912 and bococizumab), a library of variants was created based on surface hydrophobic and positive charge patches. Mammalian display was used to select for antibodies that retained target binding and permitted increased display level. The resultant variants exhibited reduced polyreactivity and reduced aggregation propensity. Furthermore, we show in the case of bococizumab that biophysically improved variants are less immunogenic than the parental molecule. Thus, mammalian display helps to address multiple developability issues during the earliest stages of lead discovery, thereby significantly de-risking the future development of protein drugs.
- Published
- 2020
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