Method of producing an immunogenic composition

1 . A method of producing an immunogenic composition comprising a recombinant Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) ORF2 protein, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

(a)(i) providing a mixture containing

a first liquid,

recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein and/or virus-like particles comprising a plurality of a recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein, and

a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding said recombinant

PCV2 ORF2 protein;

(ii) inactivating the vector by adding an inactivating agent to the mixture of step (i);

(iii) neutralizing the inactivating agent by adding a neutralizing agent to the mixture resulting from step (ii);

(b) concentrating the recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein and/or said virus-like particles in the mixture resulting from step (a) (iii) by removing a portion of the first liquid from the mixture, and

(c) processing the solution resulting from step (b) by continuous diafiltration such that the concentration of the neutralized inactivating agent and the concentration of the neutralizing agent is decreased in the process solution.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein in step (b) the removing of a portion of the first liquid from said mixture consists of or comprises filtering said mixture with at least one filter.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one filter is at least one flat sheet filter or at least one hollow fiber filter.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein in step (b) said concentrating comprises

feeding the mixture into a filter system containing at least one filter, wherein the at least one filter comprises a filter membrane having a membrane pore size allowing the neutralized inactivating agent and/or the neutralizing agent to pass through while retaining the recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein and/or said virus-like particles in the bulk flow, and

discharging the permeate comprising the neutralized inactivating agent and the neutralizing agent, wherein a second liquid is not added to the bulk flow.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said first liquid comprises a portion of cell culture medium or consists of cell culture medium.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises the step of

(d) admixing the mixture remaining after step (c) with a further component selected from the group consisting of pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, adjuvants, diluents, excipients, and combinations thereof.

7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein the method further comprises the step of combining the mixture remaining after step (c) or step (d) with at least one additional antigen,

and wherein the at least one additional antigen is an attenuated live Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein comprises a sequence having at least at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, at least 99%, at least 99.1%, at least 99.5%, or 100% sequence identity with the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO:2.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the vector is a recombinant virus.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the virucidal activity of the immunogenic composition resulting from said method is reduced by at least 20% as compared to an immunogenic composition mixture that has not undergone the concentrating of step (b) and the continuous diafiltration of step (c) of said method.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the step of combining the mixture remaining after step (c) or step (d) with at least one additional antigen,

and wherein the at least one additional antigen is Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said continuous diafiltration further comprises:

feeding the solution into a filter system containing at least one filter, wherein the at least one filter comprises a filter membrane having a membrane pore size allowing the neutralized inactivating agent and the neutralizing agent to pass through while retaining the recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein and/or said virus-like particles in the bulk flow,

discharging the permeate comprising the neutralized inactivating agent and the neutralizing agent,

adding a second liquid to the bulk flow at a rate equal to the permeate flow, wherein the second liquid is different from the first liquid.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein in step (b) and in step (c) the same filter system is utilized.

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein

step (iii) is carried out in a first container, and wherein the mixture resulting from neutralizing the inactivating agent is transferred from the first container to a second container connected with a filter system, and wherein after transferring the mixture from the first to the second container a valve between the first container and the second container is closed, and the empty first container is filled with the second liquid,

in step (b) the mixture is circulated through the second container and the filter system until the concentrating is completed, and

in step (c) the valve between the first and the second container is opened and the second liquid is continuously led from the first container to the second container while the mixture is circulated through the filter system and the second container.

15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the second liquid is a P-Saline or phosphate buffered saline (PBS) buffer solution, and wherein when said P-saline is the buffer solution, the P-saline comprises 0.8-0.9% (w/v) NaCl dissolved in water and pH adjusted to 6.8-7.0.

16 . An immunogenic composition, comprising

a recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein comprising a sequence having at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, at least 99%, at least 99.1%, at least 99.5%, or 100% sequence identity with the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO:2, and

1-10 μM L-arginine

and wherein the immunogenic composition is substantially free from a neutralized inactivating agent and/or substantially free from a neutralizing agent.

17 . The immunogenic composition according to claim 16 comprising 4.0-12.2 μM L-lysine.

18 . The immunogenic composition according to claim 16 , wherein said immunogenic composition is produced by a method comprising the steps of:

(a) (i) providing a mixture containing

a first liquid,

recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein and/or virus-like particles comprising a plurality of a recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein, and

a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding said recombinant

PCV2 ORF2 protein;

(ii) inactivating the vector by adding an inactivating agent to the mixture of step (i);

(iii) neutralizing the inactivating agent by adding a neutralizing agent to the mixture resulting from step (ii);

(b) concentrating the recombinant PCV2 ORF2 protein and/or said virus-like particles in the mixture resulting from step (a) (iii) by removing a portion of the first liquid from the mixture, and

(c) processing the solution resulting from step (b) by continuous diafiltration such that the concentration of the neutralized inactivating agent and the concentration of the neutralizing agent is decreased in the process solution.

19 . The immunogenic composition according to claim 16 , wherein the immunogenic composition further comprises an attenuated live Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus, or an attenuated live bacterium.

20 . A kit comprising a container containing the immunogenic composition according to claim 16 .

21 . The kit according to claim 20 , wherein the kit comprises at least one additional container containing at least one additional antigen selected from the group consisting of attenuated live PRRS virus and attenuated live bacterium.

22 . The immunogenic composition according to claim 16 or the kit according to claim 21 , for use in a method of

inducing a protective immune response against PCV2 or

reducing one or more clinical signs of PCV2 infection

in an animal.

23 . The immunogenic composition according to claim 16 or the kit according to claim 21 , for use in a method of

inducing a protective immune response against at least one pathogen or

reducing one or more clinical signs of at least one pathogen infection

in an animal, wherein the at least one pathogen is selected from the group consisting of PCV2, attenuated live PRRSV, and a combination thereof.