Surface Activity of a Monoclonal Antibody

The development of high concentration antibody formulations presents a major challenge for the formulation scientist, as physical characteristics and stability behavior change compared to low concentration protein formulations. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential correlation between surface activity and shaking stress stability of a model antibody-polysorbate 20 formulation. The surface activities of pure antibody and polysorbate 20 were compared, followed by a study on the influence of a model antibody on the apparent critical micelle concentration (CMC) of polysorbate 20 over a protein concentration range from 10 to 150 mg/mL. In a shaking stress experiment, the stability of 10, 75, and 150 mg/mL antibody formulations was investigated containing different concentrations of polysorbate 20, both below and above the CMC. The antibody increased significantly the apparent CMC of antibody-polysorbate 20 mixtures in comparison to the protein-free buffer. However, the concentration of polysorbate required for stabilization of the model antibody in a shaking stress experiment did not show dependence on the CMC. A polysorbate 20 level of 0.005% was found sufficient to stabilize both at low and high antibody concentration against antibody aggregation and precipitation. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 98:4525–4533, 2009