Host cell protein impurities in chromatographic polishing steps for monoclonal antibody purification

ABSTRACT Downstream purification of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is normally performed using a platform process that is empirically tuned to optimize impurity removal for each new product. A more fundamental understanding of impurities and the product itself would provide insights into the rational design of efficient downstream processes. This work examines the chromatographic properties of Chinese hamster ovary host cell protein (HCP) impurities in non‐affinity chromatographic resins commonly used in polishing steps for monoclonal antibody purification: ion‐exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and multimodal. Using proteomic analysis, the specific HCP impurities that elute close to mAb products are identified for these resins at typical downstream processing conditions. Additionally, the interactions of HCP impurities with mAb products are profiled to determine the total extent of product association and the specific HCP species that form associative complexes under conditions encountered in polishing columns. Product association and co‐elution were both identified as viable mechanisms of HCP retention for the non‐affinity resins tested here. A relatively large sub‐population of HCP impurities was found to co‐elute or associate with mAbs in each polishing column, but only a small population of HCPs—including lipoprotein lipase, chrondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4, nidogen‐1, and SPARC—were identified as difficult to remove across an entire downstream mAb process. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1260–1272. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This work examines the chromatographic properties of Chinese hamster ovary host cell protein (HCP) impurities in non‐affinity chromatographic resins commonly used in polishing steps for monoclonal antibody purification. Additionally, the interactions of HCP impurities with mAb products are profiled to determine the total extent of product association and the specific HCP species that form associative complexes under conditions encountered in polishing columns. A small population of HCPs were identified as difficult to remove across an entire downstream mAb process.