Development and validation of a molecular size distribution method for polysaccharide vaccines.

Determination of the molecular size distribution of vaccine products by high performance size exclusion chromatography coupled to refractive index detection is important during the manufacturing process. Partial elution of high molecular weight compounds in the void volume of the chromatographic column is responsible for variation in the results obtained with a reference method using a TSK G5000PWXL chromatographic column. GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines has developed an alternative method relying on the selection of a different chromatographic column with a wider separation range and the generation of a dextran calibration curve to determine the optimal molecular weight cut-off values for all tested products. Validation of this method was performed according to The International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). The new method detected product degradation with the same sensitivity as that observed for the reference method. All validation parameters were within the pre-specified range. Precision (relative standard deviation (RSD) of mean values) was < 5 per cent (intra-assay) and < 10 per cent (inter-assay). Sample recovery was > 70 per cent for all polysaccharide conjugates and for the Haemophilus influenzae type B final container vaccine. All results obtained for robustness met the acceptance criteria defined in the validation protocol (≤ 2 times (RSD) or ≤ 2 per cent difference between the modified and the reference parameter value if RSD = 0 per cent). The new method was shown to be a suitable quality control method for the release and stability follow-up of polysaccharide-containing vaccines. The new method gave comparable results to the reference method, but with less intra- and inter-assay variability.