Pharmacokinetic Comparability of a Biosimilar Trastuzumab Anticipated from Its Physicochemical and Biological Characterization

Abstract EN

Comparability between a biosimilar and its reference product requires the evaluation of critical quality attributes that may impact on its pharmacological response.

Herein we present a physicochemical characterization of a biosimilar trastuzumab focused on the attributes related to the pharmacokinetic response.

Capillary isoelectrofocusing (cIEF) and cation exchange chromatography (CEX) were used to evaluate charge heterogeneity; glycosylation profiles were assessed through hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC); aggregates content was evaluated through size exclusion chromatography (SEC) while binding affinity to FcRn was evaluated using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC).

The biosimilar trastuzumab and its reference product exhibited a high degree of similarity for the evaluated attributes.

In regard to the pharmacokinetic parameters, randomized, double blind, and two-arm parallel and prospective study was employed after the administration of a single intravenous dose in healthy volunteers.

No significant differences were found between the pharmacokinetic profiles of both products.

Our results confirm that similarity of the critical quality attributes between a biosimilar product, obtained from a different manufacturing process, and the reference product resulted in comparable pharmacokinetic profiles, diminishing the uncertainty related to the biosimilar’s safety and efficacy.