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Developers need to look beyond the formulation of a stable drug all the way to patient compliance. How will the patient receive the dose, in what setting and with what level of pain are all questions that should be considered from early development stages. As biologics continue to push the boundaries of what was historically possible in the drug treatment area, delivery devices are ready to assist patients in successfully complying with stated dosing regimens. If one can formulate to the traditional <1mL space with a reasonable viscosity and a liquid stable formulation, an auto-injector may be all one needs to finalise their combination product choice. Move outside any of the standard formulation parameters and the newest technology is more applicable. When looking at approved combination products, such as Amgen’s Repatha®, each cartridge contains 420 mg of evolocumab in 3.5 mL of solution (120 mg/m)1. The wearable device approved as part of Amgen’s combination product allows multiple minute delivery of a high-volume biologic in the convenience of a patient’s home.
Numerous pitfalls exist along the journey to bring a biologic combination product to market. One must ensure the right analytical methods are in place, have a repeatable, controlled manufacturing process, manage poor yields, test compatibility of drug with device, design an ideal device through human factors, navigate successful clinical trials all whilst regulating and testing to the appropriate regulatory agency expectations. Navigate these challenges well, and you have a robust process and product. If the challenges are navigated poorly, difficulties should be expected such as unacceptable extractables or leachables, poor human factor results and inconsistent yields.
One concern is that any change downstream will detrimentally impact submission deadlines and the speed with which to get to market. How quickly a drug gets to market is often, but not always, an indicator of how successful it will be. Minimising change can be mitigated using several recommendations:
West can help you Simplify the Journey™ with our new Integrated Solutions Program. Click here to learn more about packages that include not only the primary container and delivery system, but also for analytical testing, regulatory support and contract manufacturing/design options .
Simplify the Journey™ is a trademark of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., in the United States and other jurisdictions.
Repatha® is a registered trademark of Amgen, Inc.