Background: High-quality critical reagents are essential to the successful support of biotherapeutic drug development regardless of the analytical platform used for support. The lack of such a reagent, early in the development lifecycle of a biotherapeutic can have detrimental impact on resource and translation of data across development phases. Results: Here, a pharmacokinetic assay case study is shared that illustrates what can occur when there is a lack of a reproducible and sustainable critical reagent early in the development lifecycle of a biotherapeutic. Various assay formats and critical reagents, as well as reagents generation programs, were initiated to find a reagent and assay format which was fit for purpose. Conclusions: Identification of appropriate critical reagents early in the development lifecycle of a biotherapeutic as advantageous.
Keywords: biotherapeutics; critical reagents; immunoassay; large molecule.