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Stabilization of HAC1 Influenza Vaccine by Spray Drying: Formulation Development and Process Scale-Up

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ABSTRACT

Purpose

Stable vaccines with long shelf lives and reduced dependency on the cold chain are ideal for stockpiling and rapid deployment during public emergencies, including pandemics. Spray drying is a low-cost process that has potential to produce vaccines stable at a wide range of temperatures. Our aim was to develop a stable formulation of a recombinant H1N1 influenza hemagglutinin vaccine candidate and take it to pilot-scale spray-drying production.

Methods

Eight formulations containing different excipients were produced and assayed for antigen stability, powder characteristics, and immunogenicity after storage at a range of temperatures, resulting in the identification of four promising candidates. A pilot-scale spray-drying process was then developed for further testing of one formulation.

Results

The pilot-scale process was used to reproducibly manufacture three batches of the selected formulation with yields >90%. All batches had stable physical properties and in vitro potency for 6 months at temperatures from −20°C to +50°C. Formulations stored for 3 months elicited immunogenic responses in mice equivalent to a frozen lot of bulk vaccine used as a stability control.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the feasibility of stabilizing subunit vaccines using a spray-drying process and the suitability of the process for manufacturing a candidate product.

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Abbreviations

DSC:

Differential scanning calorimetry

HAI:

Hemagglutination inhibition

KF:

Karl Fischer moisture content analysis

mDSC:

Modulated differential scanning calorimetry

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

PXRD:

Powder X-ray diffraction

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

SRID:

Single radial immunodiffusion

Tg :

Glass transition temperature

Tm :

Melting temperature

ZBH:

Zero-background holder

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND DISCLOSURES

This work was supported with funding from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The authors wish to thank Patricia Logan, Amy Wales, and Marjorie Murray for their assistance in the development of this article, Megan Coffin and Dione Gray for their technical assistance with the immunogenicity studies, and Dr. John Sumida for the sample testing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PATH, PO Box 900922, Seattle, Washington, 98109, USA

    Changcheng Zhu, Dexiang Chen & Manjari Lal

  2. Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biotechnology, Newark, Delaware, USA

    Yoko Shoji, Caitlin E. Hartman, Jessica A. Chichester & Vidadi Yusibov

  3. Bend Research Inc., Bend, Oregon, USA

    Scott McCray, Michael Burke & Jeff Breit

Authors
  1. Changcheng Zhu
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  2. Yoko Shoji
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  3. Scott McCray
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  4. Michael Burke
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  5. Caitlin E. Hartman
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  6. Jessica A. Chichester
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  7. Jeff Breit
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  8. Vidadi Yusibov
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  9. Dexiang Chen
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  10. Manjari Lal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manjari Lal.

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Zhu, C., Shoji, Y., McCray, S. et al. Stabilization of HAC1 Influenza Vaccine by Spray Drying: Formulation Development and Process Scale-Up. Pharm Res 31, 3006–3018 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-014-1394-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-014-1394-3

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