The GARD™potency assay for potency-associated subclassification of chemical skin sensitizers – Rationale, method development and ring trial results of predictive performance and reproducibility

Poster presented at the 2021 World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences

Robin Gradin, Angelica Johansson, Andy Forreryd, Amber Edwards, Veronika Hoepflinge, Florence Burleson, Helge Gehrke, Erwin Roggen, Henrik Johansson| SenzaGen AB, 22381 Lund, Sweden; Burleson Research Technologies, Morrisville, NC 27560, USA; Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing Munich Gmbh, 82152 Planegg, Germany; 43RsMC Aps, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

Download a copy

 

Conclusion

  • GARDpotency is an assay for sub-categorization of strong sensitizers (CLP sub-category 1A), allowing for discrimination from weak sensitizers (CLP sub-category 1B) and non-sensitizers. The method is based on the GARD platform, combining human immune cells, a genomic biomarker readout and machine learning-assisted classifications.
  • Sequential combination of GARDskin and GARDpotency forms the GARD Defined Approach, for complete hazard and risk assessment of skin sensitizers into three categories (CLP 1A, CLP 1B, non-sensitizers).
  • A blinded ring trial, comprising 28 chemicals, demonstrated that GARDpotency is functional and reproducible, with an accumulated predictive accuracy of 91% across three laboratories. In the same dataset, the GARD Defined Approach classifies chemicals into three categories with 86% accuracy.

Abstract

The advancement of non-animal approaches for hazard assessment of skin sensitizers have generated a variety of alternative assays with discriminatory properties comparable with those of accepted in vivo methods. However, hazard identification is rarely sufficient and information permitting the relative ranking of chemicals’ skin sensitization potency is desired. For example, the globally harmonized system of classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS/CLP) extends the binary hazard assessment with a qualitative subcategorization to distinguish between weak and strong skin sensitizers.

Though substantial efforts have been made towards developing alternative methods for potency assessment, none have gained regulatory acceptance, emphasizing that continued development of improved alternative assays remains a high priority.

The genomic allergen rapid detection (GARD) is an in vitro testing platform for assessment and characterization of chemical sensitizers, based on evaluation of transcriptional patterns of endpoint-specific genomic biomarker signatures in a human dendritic-like cell line following chemical exposure, in order to provide machine learning-assisted classifications of tested substances. The GARDskin assay was recently subjected to a formal validation procedure (OECD TGP 4.106) and reported a reproducibility between laboratories of 92%, as well as a predictive accuracy of 94%, for sensitization hazard assessment.

Here, we present the implementation of the related GARD application GARDpotency, for potency-associated subcategorization of chemical sensitizers. Following prediction model establishment, the functionality of the assay was validated in a blinded ring-trial, in accordance with OECD-guidance documents, by assessing predictive performance and reproducibility. It was found that the assay is functional and predictive, with an estimated cumulative accuracy of 88% across three laboratories and nine independent experiments. The within-laboratory reproducibility measures ranged between 63-89%, and the between-laboratory reproducibility was estimated to 61%. In conclusion, the in vitro GARDpotency assay constitute a standardized, functional assay, which could be a valuable tool for hazard characterization of skin sensitizer potency.

Quantitative Sensitizing Potency Assessment Using GARD™skin Dose-Response

Poster presented at the 2021 World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences

Henrik Johansson, Robin Gradin, Andy Forreryd, Joshua Schmidt
SenzaGen AB, Lund, Sweden. SenzaGen Inc., Raleigh, NC.

Download a copy

 

Conclusion

  • As an adaptation from the GARDskin assay, GARDskin Dose-Response is suitable for quantitative skin sensitizing potency assessment of chemicals.
  • The experimental readout, referred to as cDV0, corresponds to the lowest dose required to elicit a positive response in GARDskin. As such, experimental protocols are analogous to the LLNA, in which the cDV0 corresponds to the EC3-value.
  • The cDV0 may be used to directly monitor sensitizing potency, or further used to extrapolate LLNA EC3-values, estimation of Human potency categories, or CLP 1A/1B classifications.

Abstract

Proactive identification and characterization of sensitization hazards are central aspects of risk assessment of chemicals. Current legislations and trends in predictive toxicology advocate a transition from in vivo methods to non-animal alternatives, with a number of methods for hazard assessment of skin sensitizers currently available. However, non-animal methods capable of providing quantitative assessment of sensitizing potency are currently lacking.

The GARDskin assay is a next-generation in vitro assay for hazard assessment of skin sensitizers, currently progressing towards regulatory acceptance. Recently, the GARDskin Dose-Response (DR) testing strategy was introduced, in which test chemicals are evaluated by the GARDskin assay in a titrated range of concentrations, in order to investigate the dose-response relationship between GARDskin classifications and test chemical concentration. As such, it provides a quantitative estimation of sensitizing potency, referred to as cDV0, which corresponds to the least required dose able to generate a positive response in the GARDskin assay. The cDV0 value obtained for a test chemical may be viewed as an analogue to the LLNA EC3 value, based on which further hazard characterization and risk assessment may be performed. Statistically significant correlation between the GARDskin DR cDV0 and the LLNA EC3, as well as with human No Expected Sensitization Induction level (NESIL) estimations has been confirmed, thus enabling direct extrapolation between the different metrics.

Here, we further illustrate how these results can be used on their own to facilitate direct potency-associated ranking of test chemicals. Furthermore, we demonstrate how obtained cDV0 values can be extrapolated to LLNA EC3 values with a 95% confidence interval, thereby also facilitating potency-associated subcategorization of test chemicals according to UN GHS classification criteria. Lastly, we illustrate how results generated with GARDskin DR can be directly incorporated into existing strategies for Quantitative Risk Assessment using an entirely in vitro setup.

Big pharma screens development candidates with GARDskin

SenzaGen has been selected to test substances from a leading global pharmaceuticals company. The pharmaceuticals company, which is one of the largest in the world, has global operations with a uniquely wide range of treatment areas. With GARD®skin, the company aims to determine whether new development candidates can cause allergic reactions on the skin.

“We are delighted that one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world has chosen to partner with SenzaGen and has decided to test substances with GARD®skin, which once again validates the value of GARD®skin internationally. Our test method provides them with fast and reliable results, making it possible to ensure that their substances cannot cause skin allergies already during the development phase. This project serves as further proof that our innovative technology is highly interesting to leading companies in the pharmaceuticals industry,” says Peter Nählstedt, CEO of SenzaGen.

SenzaGen’s GARD® test platform is designed for companies looking to improve their testing strategy and enhance the accuracy of their test results while avoiding animal testing.

Read more about GARDskin.

New distribution agreement with Enthalpy Analytical, USA

We are happy to team up with Enthalpy Analytical by welcoming them as distributor of our innovative GARD technology. Based in the USA, Enthalpy is an established CRO in the field of in vitro toxicology, and we jointly strive to provide our clients with best-in-class testing support, innovative science, and high-quality data.

Joint marketing activities 2021

  • Webinar, September 22 (more information coming soon)
  • CORESTA SSPT2021 Virtual Conference, Oct 18-28

We look forward to a fruitful cooperation!

SenzaGen’s Newsletter July 2021

Click image to read the newsletter.

Webcast: Positive scientific ESAC opinion on GARD®skin – paving the way for OECD validation and opens new commercial opportunities

CEO Axel Sjöblad and Chief Scientist Henrik Johansson comment on the recently published ESAC opinion.

 

Leading cosmetic company tests ingredients with GARDskin Dose-Response to support product safety

SenzaGen now starts to collaborate with one of the world’s leading companies in the beauty and cosmetics market. With GARD™skin Dose-Response, the company wants to determine the dose at which a substance or a mixture in a cosmetic product cause allergy. This may apply, for example, to certain perfumes, preservatives, herbal ingredients, or hair dyes.

“We are very pleased that one of the largest cosmetics companies and top beauty brands chooses to test ingredients with our unique test method GARD™skin Dose-Response and see it as a great recognition of both SenzaGen and GARD™. The collaboration confirms the trust in that the GARD technology is able to identify the dosage at which a substance may induce sensitization, and further demonstrates SenzaGen’s strong position in this market segment. It is a verification that GARD™skin Dose-Response meets a need that companies and researchers in the cosmetics industry have expressed for a long time and that we are one of the first companies to fulfil. We look forward to providing data that ensures that the company’s products do not contain allergenic substances that may cause problems for consumers around the world”, says Axel Sjöblad, CEO of SenzaGen.

The GARD™skin Dose-Response test provides information on the dose at which a substance causes allergy. The test enables companies in industries including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals to identify the highest possible quantity of a chemical that they can include in their products (“the Dose of Departure”). This serves as crucial information for prioritization and decision-making in research and development. The new test is an expanded application domain of GARD™skin, and it is one of the first of its kind on the market.

CEO presentation at SenzaGen’s AGM 2021

Comments to the 2020 closing and 2021 update by CEO Axel Sjöblad. 

Applicability domain of the GARD™skin Medical Device test for in vitro skin sensitization testing of medical devices

Poster presented at SOT 2021

Joshua Schmidt, Ron Brown and Rose-Marie Jenvert
SenzaGen Inc., Raleigh, NC, USA, Risk Science Consortium LLC, Arnold, MD, USA, SenzaGen AB, Lund, Sweden.

Download a copy

Conclusion

  • The chemical space of compounds tested in GARD closely approximates the chemical space of compounds known to be released from medical device materials.
  • GARDskin is able to predict the skin sensitization potential of compounds released from medical device materials with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity, including: metals, lipophilic compounds and pre/pro haptens.

Abstract

Medical device toxicology is undergoing an exciting evolution; transitioning from a process that largely relied on the results of animal testing to evaluate the biological safety of devices in patients to one which is increasingly focused on the use of in vitro methods for the safety assessment of device materials.

Recently, in vitro methods to assess endpoints such as skin irritation and pyrogenicity have been validated and proposed for medical device testing, but a method to assess the potential for device-related skin sensitization to occur has not been sufficiently qualified. A number of in vitro skin sensitization test methods have been shown to have acceptable predictive ability for known skin sensitizers with structures that span a broad range of chemical classes, but the predictive ability of these methods has not been specifically evaluated using compounds typically found in materials used to manufacture medical devices. As a result, the need exists to qualify in vitro methods to assess the skin sensitization of compounds that may be released from medical devices, taking into account the applicability domain of known or potential skin sensitizers, including metals.

To address this challenge, the predictive ability of the GARD assay has been evaluated using a dataset of compounds known to be released from device materials.  Against these data, the assay correctly predicted 19 out of 21 lipophilic and pre-/pro-hapten compounds (90.5% accuracy), with one false positive (95.2% sensitivity) and one false negative (95.2% specificity) being predicted, thus increasing the confidence in use of this in vitro assay to assess the skin sensitization potential of medical devices.  Furthermore, we have also demonstrated that the GARD assay correctly predicts the skin sensitization response of nickel and cobalt salts (sensitizers) and a zinc salt (non-sensitizer). Overall, our data support the use of the GARDskin Medical Device assay as an in vitro alternative for the in vivo methods (e.g., GPMT, LLNA) that are typically used to assess skin sensitization as part of the biological safety assessment of medical devices.

Quantitative Sensitizing Potency Assessment Using GARD™skin Dose-Response

Poster presented at SOT 2021

Henrik Johansson, Robin Gradin, Andy Forreryd, Joshua Schmidt
SenzaGen AB, Lund, Sweden. SenzaGen Inc., Raleigh, NC.

Download a copy

 

Conclusion

  • As an adaptation from the GARDskin assay, GARDskin Dose-Response is suitable for quantitative skin sensitizing potency assessment of chemicals.
  • The experimental readout, referred to as cDV0, corresponds to the lowest dose required to elicit a positive response in GARDskin. As such, experimental protocols are analogous to the LLNA, in which the cDV0 corresponds to the EC3-value.
  • The cDV0 may be used to directly monitor sensitizing potency, or further used to extrapolate LLNA EC3-values, estimation of Human potency categories, or CLP 1A/1B classifications.

Abstract

Proactive identification and characterization of sensitization hazards are central aspects of risk assessment of chemicals. Current legislations and trends in predictive toxicology advocate a transition from in vivo methods to non-animal alternatives, with a number of methods for hazard assessment of skin sensitizers currently available. However, non-animal methods capable of providing quantitative assessment of sensitizing potency are currently lacking.

The GARDskin assay is a next-generation in vitro assay for hazard assessment of skin sensitizers, currently progressing towards regulatory acceptance. Recently, the GARDskin Dose-Response (DR) testing strategy was introduced, in which test chemicals are evaluated by the GARDskin assay in a titrated range of concentrations, in order to investigate the dose-response relationship between GARDskin classifications and test chemical concentration. As such, it provides a quantitative estimation of sensitizing potency, referred to as cDV0, which corresponds to the least required dose able to generate a positive response in the GARDskin assay. The cDV0 value obtained for a test chemical may be viewed as an analogue to the LLNA EC3 value, based on which further hazard characterization and risk assessment may be performed. Statistically significant correlation between the GARDskin DR cDV0 and the LLNA EC3, as well as with human No Expected Sensitization Induction level (NESIL) estimations has been confirmed, thus enabling direct extrapolation between the different metrics.

Here, we further introduce the GARDskin DR protocols, as proposed in a standardized testing strategy. By studying a concentration range of 6 concentration points titrated from the experimentally derived GARD input concentration in biological duplicates, a test chemical-specific cDV0 is established by linear interpolation. We illustrate how these results can be used on their own to facilitate direct potency-associated ranking of test chemicals. Furthermore, we demonstrate how obtained cDV0 values can be extrapolated to LLNA EC3 values with a 95% confidence interval, thereby also facilitating potency-associated subcategorization of test chemicals according to UN GHS classification criteria. Lastly, we illustrate how results generated with GARDskin DR can be directly incorporated into existing strategies for Quantitative Risk Assessment using an entirely in vitro setup.