Dry powder formulations of hyperimmune serum

Abstract

Effective strategies against the spread of respiratory viruses are needed, as tragically demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from vaccines, other preventive or protective measures are necessary: one promising strategy involves the nasal delivery of preventive or protective agents, targeting the site of initial infection. Harnessing the immune system’s ability to produce specific antibodies, a hyperimmune serum, collected from an individual vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, was formulated as a dry powder for nasal administration. The selection of adequate excipients and process are key to maintaining protein stability and modulating the aerodynamic properties of the powders for reaching the desired respiratory regions. To this end, a hyperimmune serum was formulated with trehalose and mannitol as bulking agents during spray drying, then the ability of the redissolved immunoglobulins to bind Spike protein was verified by ELISA; foetal bovine serum was formulated in the same conditions as a reference. Moreover, a seroneutralization assay against SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses generated from different variants of concern was performed. The neutralizing ability of the serum was slightly reduced with respect to the starting serum when trehalose was used as a bulking agent. The powders were loaded in hypromellose capsules and aerosolized employing a nasal insufflator in an in vitro model of the nasal cavity connected to a Next Generation Impactor. The analysis of the powder distribution confirmed that all powders were inhalable and could target, at the same time, the upper and the lower airways. This is a preliminary proof-of-concept that this approach can constitute an effective strategy to provide broad coverage and protection against SARS-CoV-2, and in general against viruses affecting the airway. According to blood availability from donors, pools of hyperimmune sera could be rapidly formulated and administered, providing a simultaneous and timely neutralization of emerging viral variants. Graphical Abstract