Objective: To develop and validate a method for the detection of binding anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) against interferon beta (IFN-β) in human serum as part of a European initiative (ABIRISK) aimed at the prediction and analysis of clinical relevance of anti-biopharmaceutical immunization to minimize the risk.
Method: A two-tiered bridging enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) format was selected and validated according to current recommendations. Screening assay: ADA in serum samples form complexes with immobilized IFN-β and biotinylated IFN-β, which are then detected using HRP labeled Streptavidin and TMB substrate. Confirmation assay: Screen "putative positive" samples are tested in the presence of excess drug (preincubation of sera with 0.3 µg/mL of soluble IFN-β) and percentage of inhibition is calculated.
Results: The assay is precise, and the sensitivity of the assay was confirmed to be 26 ng/mL using commercially available polyclonal rabbit antihuman IFN-β in human sera as the positive control.
Conclusion: An ultrasensitive ELISA for IFN-β-binding ADA testing has been validated. This will form the basis to assess anti-biopharmaceutical immunization toward IFN-β with regards to its clinical relevance and may allow for the development of predictive tools, key aims within the ABIRISK consortium.
Keywords: anti-drug antibodies; biotherapy; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; interferon beta; multiple sclerosis.