Development of a Lyophilized Formulation of Pegaspargase and Comparability Versus Liquid Pegaspargase

INTRODUCTION: Pegaspargase, a pegylated asparaginase, is a core component in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Pegaspargase in liquid form has a limited shelf life of 8 months due to depegylation, leading to changes in purity and potency over time. Lyophilization is an approach that can improve the stability of biological drug conjugates. METHODS: Here we describe the development of a lyophilized formulation of pegaspargase and present results of a series of tests demonstrating that the lyophilized form has comparable physicochemical properties to the liquid form. RESULTS: Stability tests of critical quality attributes, including purity, potency, aggregates and total free polyethylene glycol, demonstrate that lyophilized pegaspargase remains stable for at least 3 years, with optimum stability achieved with storage under refrigerated conditions (2–8 °C). CONCLUSIONS: Lyophilization improved the stability of pegaspargase without altering other physicochemical properties, permitting a prolonged shelf life of at least 2 years when stored at 2–8 °C. This may enable greater storage flexibility and allow for better management of pegaspargase. FUNDING: Study Sponsor: Baxalta (now part of Takeda). Publication Sponsor: Servier Affaires Médicales. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s12325-019-00988-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.