Poloxamer 188 as Surfactant in Biological Formulations – An Alternative for Polysorbate 20/80?

Surfactants are used to stabilize biologics. Especially, polysorbates (Tween® 20 and Tween® 80) dominate the group of surfactants in protein and especially antibody drug products. Since decades drug developers rely on the ethoxylated sorbitan fatty acid ester mixtures to stabilize sensitive molecules such as proteins. Reasons are (i) excellent stabilizing properties, and (ii) well recognized safety and tolerability profile of these polysorbates in humans, especially for parenteral applications. However, over the past decade concerns regarding the stability of these two polysorbates were raised. The search of alternatives with preferably less reservations concerning degradation and product quality reducing issues leads, among others, to poloxamer 188 (Kolliphor® P188), a nonionic triblock-copolymer surfactant. This review sums up our current knowledge related to the characterization and physico-chemical properties of poloxamer 188, its analytics and stability properties for biological formulations. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages as a suitable polysorbate-alternative for the stabilization of biologics are discussed.

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About this article: Lukas Bollenbach, Julia Buske, Karsten Mäder, Patrick Garidel, Poloxamer 188 as Surfactant in Biological Formulations – An Alternative for Polysorbate 20/80?, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2022, 121706, ISSN 0378-5173, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2022.121706.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378517322002617)

See also the short video on Kolliphor P 188 Bio: