Discovery and basic pharmacology of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), including the hyperglycosylated ESA, darbepoetin alfa: an update of the rationale and clinical impact

Abstract

Cloning of the human erythropoietin (EPO) gene and development of the first recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) drug were truly breakthroughs. This allowed a deeper understanding of the structure and pharmacology of rHuEpo, which in turn inspired the discovery and development of additional erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs).

In vivo specific activity and serum half-life of rHuEPO are influenced by the amount and structure of the attached carbohydrate. Increased numbers of sialic acids on carbohydrate attached to rHuEPO correlated with a relative increase in in-vivo-specific activity and increased serum half-life.

The effect of increasing the number of sialic-acid-containing carbohydrates on in-vivo-specific activity was explored. Initial research focused on solving the problem of how the protein backbone could be engineered so a cell would add more carbohydrate to it.

Additional work resulted in darbepoetin alfa, a longer-acting molecule with two additional carbohydrate chains.