Working with world-leading companies and academic institutions across many therapeutic areas, Abzena is proud to offer its suite of complementary services and technologies to enable the development and manufacture of better biopharmaceuticals Abzena Sites & Technology Overview San Diego, USA Abzena has undergone a significant transformation in the past few years following the acquisition of Antitope in 2013 and PacificGMP and TCRS in 2015. Bringing together these companies allows Abzena to support customers’ projects seamlessly from lead optimisation and selection through to GMP manufacturing for clinical trials. MANUFACTURING GMP manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals for Phase I and Phase II clinical trials using single-use equipment Process development to improve yield and optimise each step in the process for scale-up Coventry, UK R&D site for developing and synthesising conjugation and PEGylation reagents PolyPEG™ a low viscosity polymer to make it easier to manufacture and inject long acting therapeutic proteins Bristol, USA Toolbox of cytotoxic payloads, synthesis of payload-linker combinations for ADCs, custom synthesis of reagents and small molecules Manufacture of ADCs for evaluation and preclinical studies using ThioBridge™ or other conjugation chemistries Cambridge, UK IMMUNOGENICITY ASSESSMENT iTope and TCED™ to identify T cell epitopes using a proprietary database and algorithm CELL LINE DEVELOPMENT Composite CHO™ to produce high expressing cell lines for manufacture EpiScreen™ for ex vivo assessment of the immunogenicity of biopharmaceuticals Biosimilar cell line development in CHO, NS0 and SP2/0 including enhanced PQA ANTIBODY & PROTEIN ENGINEERING Composite Human Antibody™ technology to humanise and deimmunise antibodies BIOCONJUGATION ThioBridge™ for the generation of more stable and homogeneous ADCs Composite Protein™ technology for deimmunisation of therapeutic proteins TheraPEG™, CyPEG™ and HiPEG™ for linking polymers to therapeutic proteins to extend their duration of action Immunogenicity Assessment | EpiScreen™ Preclinical immunogenicity assessment for lead selection, risk mitigation or deimmunisation • EpiScreen™ results correlate with reported anti-drug antibody (ADA) responses in the clinic • EpiScreen™ facilitates lead selection based on the immunogenicity of whole proteins including mAbs and other human and non-human protein therapeutics • EpiScreen™ can map T cell epitopes allowing more effective antibody humanisation and protein deimmunisation EpiScreen™ time course T cell assay The EpiScreen™ time course T cell assay is an accurate and sensitive way to assess the immunogenicity of protein therapeutics. Each study uses a donor cohort that best represents the distribution of HLA-allotypes in the population. By measuring CD4+ T cell responses ex vivo, the EpiScreen™ time course T cell assay assesses the strength and kinetics of T cell responses to your protein therapeutic. These are benchmarked against historical data for clinical products to provide an immunogenicity risk assessment. Immunomodulatory proteins For proteins that directly modulate T cell activation, the EpiScreen™ DC:T cell assay is configured to prevent the direct stimulation of T cells, in order to assess the overall immunogenicity. Results correlate with clinical immunogenicity Below: An analysis of 16 clinical-stage therapeutic proteins where the frequency of donor responses by EpiScreen™ analysis demonstrates a correlation with the average frequency of patients developing anti-drug antibodies reported in clinical studies (Baker et al., 2007 and Barker et al., 2010) EpiScreen donor response (%) 40 IFNalpha R2 = 0.83 sTNFR1a 30 Alemtuzumab Infliximab IFNbeta Hirudin Vedolizumab TPO 10 0 A33 Adalimumab 20 Palivizumab Omalizumab Etanercept Bevacizumab Cantuzumab Trastuzumab 0 10 20 30 Clinical immunogenicity (%) 40 50 EpiScreen™ T cell epitope mapping The EpiScreen™ epitope mapping assay uses synthetic 15mer peptides spanning the protein sequence of interest to provide a highly accurate map of CD4+ T cell epitopes. Identification of T cell epitopes during the pre-clinical development phase allows for re-engineering of deimmunised variants with a lower risk of immunogenicity. T cell epitope mapping technology has been applied to the deimmunisation of monoclonal antibodies, enzymes, bacterial proteins, toxins and non-human proteins. iTope & TCED™ iTope™ and TCED™ in silico tools can be used to rapidly screen proteins for potential immunogenicity. The combination of both technologies provides a more accurate prediction of T cell epitopes than other in silico technologies that rely solely on MHC class II binding analysis. • Ideal for rapid screening of large numbers of samples to identify potential leads for further development • Aids in the design of deimmunised proteins and antibodies TCED™ TCED™ is a proprietary database of confirmed T cell epitopes derived from EpiScreen™ T cell epitope mapping assays used to identify T cell epitopes for removal. Sequences from proteins can be analysed for homology to these known T cell epitopes, enabling the rapid and accurate in silico identification of their potential to produce an immunogenic response. iTope™ iTope™ is an in silico tool which uses human HLA-DR MHC Class II binding predictions to identify immunogenic sequences and to design amino acids substitutions which reduce immunogenicity. Right: Peptides spanning the test sequence were tested as 9mer peptides in one amino acid increments. The position of p1 anchor residues comprises the first residue of an MHC class II ligand core 9mer. Regions containing potentially immunogenic peptides are indicated in left hand columns where red indicates promiscuous high affinity MHC class II binding peptides and yellow indicates promiscuous moderate affinity MHC class II binding peptides. In the “TCED” column, regions representing closely homologous peptides from the T cell epitope database are shown in green. 1 T 2 A 3 S 4 F 5 p1 L 6 p1 p1 I 7 G 8 A 9 M 10 S 11 V 12 E 13 S 14 E 15 D 16 G 17 I 18 G 19 L 20 p1 Y 21 R 22 T 23 V 24 T 25 G 26 I 27 S 28 L Mean Binding Score High Affinity Total Alleles Binding B1*0101 B1*0102 B1*1501 B1*1502 B1*0301 B1*0305 B1*0306 B1*0309 B1*0401 B1*0405 B1*0404 B1*0405 B1*0408 B1*0410 B1*0421 B1*1101 B1*1102 B1*1104 B1*1107 B1*1114 B1*1120 B1*1128 B1*1301 B1*1304 B1*1307 B1*1321 B1*0701 B1*0801 B1*0802 B1*0804 B1*0806 B1*0813 B1*0817 B1*0101 Sequence Promiscuous High TCED Residue number TCED™ and iTope™ can be used together to provide a more accurate evaluation of potential immunogenicity. The combined technology is typically used for rapid analysis of multiple sequences in order to identify a lead sequence with reduced risk of containing T cell epitopes. In the figure on the right a representation of results obtained by iTope™ and TCED™ is provided. Promiscuous Moderate HLA - DR Allotypes A powerful combination 5 3 0.62 18 9 0.6 27 24 0.65 4 6 0.58 2 0.58 13 3 0.58 12 6 0.6 20 18 0.69 2 0.55 5 3 0.6 3 0.64 1 3 0.57 Antibody & Protein Engineering | Antibody Humanisation Composite Human Antibody™ technology combines humanisation and deimmunisation technologies to generate fully humanised therapeutic antibodies devoid of CD4+ T cell epitopes. • Rational sequence design avoids CD4+ T cell epitopes, resulting in reduced immunogenicity compared to humanised and human antibodies • Sequence changes combined with structural integrity assessment ensures excellent retention of affinity and specificity compared to the starting monoclonal antibody • T cell epitope avoidance is confirmed using the EpiScreen™ time course T cell assay • Successfully applied to over 60 antibodies with 11 antibodies in clinical development • The Composite Human Antibody™ technology improves on industry standard humanisation and fully-human antibody technologies Humanisation and deimmunisation in one Composite Human Antibody™ technology creates fully-humanised antibodies that retain the binding affinity and specificity of the starting monoclonal antibody and which are also devoid of CD4+ T cell epitopes, thereby avoiding undesirable immunogenicity in patients. Through careful selection of human sequence segments and the application of in silico tools, CD4+ T cell epitopes can be avoided to reduce the risk of immunogenicity. Composite Human Antibodies™ are screened against the test antigen to ensure that the affinity and specificity of the starting antibody is maintained. Correct as of 1st April 2016 Currently 11 antibodies humanised using Composite Human Antibody™ technology are in clinical development as shown below. Company & product candidate Target Potential indications Gilead Sciences – GS-5745 MMP-9 Gastric cancer, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, RA, COPD Gilead Sciences – Simtuzumab LOXL2 Liver fibrosis (including NASH) & IPF Opsona Therapeutics – OPN-305 TLR2 Delayed renal graft function & myelodysplastic syndrome Vascular Pharmaceuticals – VPI-2690B αVβ3 receptor Diabetic nephropathy NKT Therapeutics – NKTT120 iNKT cells Sickle cell disease Adheron Therapeutics – SDP 051 Cadherin 11 RA, fibrotic conditions, cancer Therapure Innovations – TBI 304H CD163 Chemotherapy-induced anaemia 4 Undisclosed companies Undisclosed Undisclosed Phase I NASH = Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; IPF = idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; RA = rheumatoid arthritis Phase II Phase III Protein Deimmunisation Composite Protein™ technology generates therapeutic proteins designed to minimise immunogenicity in patients without compromising protein activity. • T cell epitopes mapped and prioritised for removal • Excellent retention of functionality and specificity compared to the starting protein • Proprietary technology, avoids other deimmunisation patents • Confirmation of T cell epitope avoidance determined using EpiScreen™ “..We are delighted to be working (Abzena) to deimmunise our protein warhead using their proven technology platform..” Kurt Gehlsen Research Corporation Technologies VP & CSO T cell epitope identified and removed Composite Protein™ technology has improved upon the previous deimmunisation technologies through the incorporation of EpiScreen™ to more accurately identify and prioritise removal of T cell epitopes. Through the use of EpiScreen™, T cell epitopes (the primary drivers of long lived, memory based immunogenicity) are identified and ranked by magnitude and promiscuity. The T cell epitopes are then removed from the protein using proprietary in silico tools and new variants are designed. Simultaneously, structure and homology analyses guide the targeting and substitution of key amino acids in order to retain the desired protein activity. Deimmunisation of the resulting Composite Protein™ is confirmed by the EpiScreen™ time course T cell assay as shown below. Right: A wild-type (WT) protein and Composite Protein™ generated from the WT protein were tested in the EpiScreen™ time course T cell assay. The WT protein was highly immunogenic but following deimmunisation using Composite Protein™ technology no significant immunogenicity (less than 10% of donors responding) was observed. % Donors responding Reducing Immunogenicity 40 Day 6 35 Day 7 Day 8 30 Day 9 25 20 15 10 5 0 WT Protein Composite Protein Protein Expression | Cell Line Development Abzena offers a variety of manufacturing cell line packages to suite customers’ development needs, from transient cell lines through to high expressing working cell banks ready for cGMP manufacture. • High expression levels of antibodies and proteins • Seamless transition from cell line development to in-house GMP production at Abzena’s US facility or management of transfer to another manufacturer • No downstream milestones or royalty payments Stable cell line development Stable cell lines capable of producing high yields of antibodies or proteins are grown in suspension in chemically defined, serumfree medium. Transfection of the cells can be performed using our pANT™ vector or a custom vector. Our manufacturing cell lines have been successfully transferred to contract manufacturers and scaled up in-house to produce cGMP material. Maintaining high expression and integrity Yield and product quality are key to cell line development and Abzena has developed technologies, including Composite CHO™ and pANT™ vectors, to achieve the high expression levels of the desired antibodies and proteins. PQA assessment can also be undertaken at multiple stages throughout the project to ensure product integrity and quality. pANT™ vector Abzena’s pANT™ vector maximises recombinant protein expression through the use of a proprietary UTR (Untranslated Terminal Region) to enhance protein production, and a modified dhfr gene for the rapid amplification of vector copy numbers in the cells. Proprietary vector: •Modified 5’ UTRs for increased protein expression •DHFR selection allows industry standard MTX amplification •Driven by a strong CMV I/E promoter For recombinant antibodies: •Contains both heavy and light chain genes in a single vector (right) •Constant regions contained on genomic fragments (with introns) for increased expression levels •Selection of IgG sub-classess such as IgG1, IgG2 and IgG4 with optional stability or functional enhancements Mlu I Hind III BamH I BssH II pANT™ vector Visualisation of a dual-chain pANT™ vector designed for recombinant antibodies. Yellow sections indicate modified 5’ UTRs. Biosimilar Development Abzena offers CHO, NS0 and Sp2/0 biosimilar cell line development programmes with bespoke quality assessment tailored to individual projects. • • • • • • High transcription vector system Vector components fully sequenced and traceable Highly efficient transfection process Fully traceable host lines (CHO, NS0, Sp2/0 and others) Host cell lines certified sterile and mycoplasma-free Final optimised cell lines ready for cGMP manufacture Developing biosimilars Maintaining biosimilarity is critical for regulatory approval and Abzena can help you achieve this by developing your biosimilar cell line using the originator cell type. We have CHO, NS0, and Sp2/0 cell lines adapted to serum-free growth for development programmes. During development of the cell line we assess a range of product quality attributes (PQA) to check consistency of these parameters with the reference product. Delivering on expectations Yield and product quality are key to biosimilar development and Abzena has developed technologies, including Composite CHO™ and pANT™ vectors, along with the experience to achieve the high expression levels of the desired antibodies and proteins. We ensure all materials used to develop the cell line are free of animalderived products and the cells are grown in a chemically defined medium. Abzena is experienced in the transfer of cell lines to cGMP manufacturing facilities to expedite scale-up. Product quality attributes (PQA) assessment To ensure consistency during the generation of manufacturing cell lines we have an approach whereby cell line and product quality are assessed at multiple stages as an integral part of the cell line development process. Product aggregation •Analysis of product aggregation, subunit dissociation or degradation •Intact mass analysis •Assessment of sample purity and suitability of purification Product integrity •Protein sequence confirmation •Confirmation of full protein and subunit mass •Analysis for loss of subunit or fusion partner •Analysis of potential degradation • Analysis for site specific oxidations or deamidations Facilities Product glycan profiling •N-glycan peak identification •Monosaccharide analysis •Sialic acid analysis •Fucosylation •Matching of specific glycan profile to innovator product Product activity •Confirmation of binding characteristics •Confirmation of activity/functionality •Assessment of effector functions (ADCC/CDC) for antibodies Abzena ensures minimal risk of cross-contamination through dedication of specific equipment to individual projects. Cell lines are stored under liquid nitrogen using facilities that offer 24-hour security with power and liquid nitrogen backup. Bioconjugation | Antibody Drug Conjugates Abzena offers optional use of ADC development from concept to manufacture including ThioBridge™ to create less heterogeneous ADCs with better stability. Abzena provides its ADC services and technologies from two sites in Bristol, USA and Cambridge, UK. Conjugation ThioBridge™ ThioBridge™ is Abzena’s proprietary conjugation technology that is used to attach a range of drug payloads, using either cleavable or non-cleavable linkers, to an antibodies or other targeting molecules through accessible disulfide bonds. The technology has been applied to a variety of antibodies to generate stable and homogeneous ADCs with 4 drugs attached and Fab drug conjugates with 1 drug attached. Homogeneity • 80-90% DAR 4 can be achieved with IgG1 antibodies • Antibody re-engineering to introduce conjugation sites is not necessary if ThioBridge™ is used. • Almost complete conversion to ADC – minimal or no unconjugated antibody Flexibility • Compatible with a wide range of payloads and virtually any type of antibody format containing accessible disulfide bonds • Compatible with the main payload release mechanisms (cleavable and non-cleavable linkers) Stability • Structural stability of the antibody is maintained by re-bridging disulfide bonds • Stable link between antibody and payload Manufacture • Conjugation designed to be a simple, scalable, and reproducible, one-pot process • ADCs easier to characterise due to their greater homogeneity • Enhanced solubility and reduced propensity to aggregate due to linker format Other conjugation and spacer technologies Abzena can also provide a selection of cleavable and non-cleavable linkers and spacer molecules for lysine, cysteine and azide conjugation technologies among others. Partners can also provide us with their own linker reagents to perform conjugations. Payloads Abzena has a variety of highly potent payloads in stock for advancing its clients’ ADC projects. Abzena has more than 20 different payloads in its toolbox for preparing conjugates which include: • • • • Dolastatin-10 and auristatin analogs Duocarmycin analogs Maytansine analogs PBD dimer analogs Abzena conducts all work with highly toxic/cytotoxic compounds in its specially designed containment laboratory. Analytics and Characterisation Abzena’s state-of-the-art labs are equipped with an array of analytical and preparative HPLC instruments and columns allowing us to handle the most difficult separations. This, in conjunction with our LC/MS and MALDI -ToF mass spectrometers and 500-MHz and 300-MHz NMR spectrometers, gives us the capability to offer our clients valuable and reliable analytical services. We are continually adding additional instrumentation in order to provide a seamless, uninterrupted operation. • Analytical and preparatory HPLC method development • NMR analysis (300 MHz, 500 MHz, 1H,13C, 31P, 19F, multidimensional) • Size-exclusion/gel-filtration chromatography • LC-MS analysis • GC-MS with headspace analysis • • • • • • Chiral separations Stability studies at variable temperature and humidity Optical rotations Purity determinations by HPLC Ion-exchange chromatography Protein NMR spectroscopy Abzena experience in characterisation and validation assay ensures that we can fully test and validate ADC’s during and post production: Target Validation • Target binding affinity • ADC internalization • Homo-Hetero-dimerization • Validated and quantitative measurements of cytotoxin and/or ADC Scale up and Manufacturing Abzena currently has the capability to produce upto 100 g of toxin, 50 g of toxin-linker and upto 10 g of antibody drug conjugate. Abzena will invest in expanding its facilities to enable GMP manufacture of up to 100 g of ADC during 2016. Scale up • Route design and optimization • Trouble-shooting • Process optimization (avoidance of chromatography, solvent minimization, impurity profiles, avoidance of potential genotoxic reagents, and manufacturability) • World-wide sourcing for best quality and cost Manufacturing • Non-GMP batches for GLP Tox studies • 10 g toxin • 50 g toxin-linker, 10 g of ADC • Full batch records for regulatory submission • Tech-transfer for multi-kg GMP scale • See page 14 for GMP antibody manufacture Mechanism of Action • ADCC and CDC - Cytotoxicity assays • Cell viability and cell death • Cell proliferation • Cell adhesion, migration and invasion • Cytotoxin release Optimisation of Pharmacokinetics Abzena’s range of site-specific conjugation technologies can optimise the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of therapeutic peptides and proteins, including antibody fragments and other protein scaffolds. CyPEG™ - cysteine conjugation CyPEG™ is a conjugation technology for site-specific conjugation of polymers at a thiol side-chain on a free cysteine. The thiol residue on a cysteine readily undergoes selective and efficient conjugation. Proteins or peptides that do not have a cysteine can be engineered to provide a specific site for conjugation using CyPEG™. HiPEG™ - conjugation at polyhistidine HiPEG™ provides site-specific conjugation of polymers at histidine sequences expressed within or at the N or C terminal ends of a protein. Conjugation at the terminus of the protein can have the advantage of reducing the shielding effect of the PEG on the functional part of the protein thereby minimising the effect on its activity. TheraPEG™ - disulfide conjugation TheraPEG™ is a technology for attaching polymers, such as PEG, to proteins through site-specific conjugation at disulfide bonds. TheraPEG™ has the flexibility to conjugate a range of PEG formats, including linear and branched PEG and Abzena’s low viscosity polymer, PolyPEG™. PolyPEG™ - modular polymer PolyPEG™ is a novel low viscosity polymer comprising a polymethacrylate backbone with short PEG side chains that form a comb-like structure. PolyPEG™ can be conjugated to therapeutic proteins to extend their in vivo half-life. PolyPEG™ is available in a range of molecular weights enabling the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the conjugated protein to be optimised. • Alternative to linear and branched polymers where viscosity is an issue for manufacture or administration • Modular architecture and range of conjugation chemistries available for optimal application of the technology • Small Molecule | Custom Synthesis Abzena’s team of experienced organic chemists has tackled a variety of complex molecules ranging from mg to g scale, common requests include: • • • • • • • Chemical intermediates Drug metabolites Process impurities Degradants Reference compounds Preclinical drug candidates Other organic molecules from diverse industries Manufacture Manufacturing and scale up Abzena currently has the capability to scale up multi-step procedures up to 100 g quantities of target material. Scale up • Route design and optimization • Trouble-shooting • Process optimization (avoidance of chromatography, solvent minimization, impurity profiles, avoidance of potential genotoxic reagents, and manufacturability) • World-wide sourcing for best quality and cost Manufacturing • Non-GMP batches for GLP toxicity studies • In-house manufacturing up to 100 g • Full batch records for regulatory submission • Tech-transfer for multi-kg GMP scale High Potency Capacity to produce 25-100 g of highly potent and cytotoxic small molecules. Biologics Manufacturing | Process Development Abzena are experts in upstream and downstream process development. These services can stand alone or be integrated into preclinical a nd clinical manufacturing projects. The focus is on improving yield and consistency during the manufacturing process. Upstream process development • Cell line expansion and research cell banking • Process scale-up from 100ML to 500 litres in batch and fed-batch • Development of upstream processes for single-use bioreactors Downstream process development • Optimisation of harvest, clarification, concentration, viral clearance, purification (capture & polishing) and formulation • Development and scale-up with an emphasis on closed systems employing single-use technology Single use technology advantages • Eliminates risk of cross-contamination • Lower cost as a result of fewer infrastructure requirements such as purified water systems and steam generators • Quick turn-around time between runs • Less complex minimising engineering requirements resulting in the elimination of clean-in-place or steamin-pace operations Taking full advantage of single-use technology Abzena can rapidly scale-up y our process from 1L to 15,000L with maximum flexibility. GMP Manufacturing Abzena provides cGMP production for recombinant proteins, antibodies, gene therapy products and vaccines for use in preclinical and phase I and II clinical trials. Abzena has extensive experience in the use of single-use technology which provides flexibility in the production process. The services provided include: • Production of products for use in preclinical, Phase I and II clinical trials • Mammalian protein expression from 1L to 500L in batch/fed batch mode and up to 15,000L in perfusion culture • Microbial protein expression at up-to 100L scale • Master, Working and End of Production Cell Banks in 100, 200 and 300 vial configurations • Analytical development and validation • Final Fill/Finish of Drug Product to 2000 vials • Release of Drug Product • Stability testing Manufacturing compliance and facilities • Licensed by California FDB and registered with the US FDA • Over 30 successful site audits • 1300 m2 state-of-the-art facility • ISO Class 5, ISO Class 7, ISO Class 8 controlled environments • Multiple manufacturing production suites • Development laboratories • Separate quality control/analytical laboratories • Internal clean room expansion capabilities Regulatory affairs support As an integral part of manufacturing under GMP standards, Abzena creates document packages suitable to support regulatory approval for use in human clinical trials. Cambridge, UK San Diego, CA Bristol, PA Babraham Research Campus Babraham Cambridge CB22 3AT United Kingdom Tel: +44 1223903498 8810 Rehco Road, Suite E San Diego, CA 92121 United States Tel: +01 858-550-4094 360 George Patterson Blvd. Suite 101E Bristol, PA 19007 United States Tel: +01 215-788-3603