Lyophilized spherical pellets of anti-il-23 antibodies

A method of preparing a lyophilized pellet of an antibody that acts as an antagonist of human IL-23, comprising:

• a) providing a vessel which contains a liquid composition comprising the antibody;
• b) providing a metal plate comprising a top surface that is solid and flat and a bottom surface that is in physical contact with a heat sink adapted to maintain the top surface of the metal plate at a temperature of −90° C. or below;
• c) positioning a dispensing tip above the top surface of the metal plate, the dispensing tip having an open end configured to dispense liquid droplets and another end in fluid contact with the vessel, wherein there is a gap of at least 0.1 cm between the top surface of the metal plate and the open end of the dispensing tip;
• d) dispensing an aliquot of the liquid composition through the open end of the dispensing tip as a single droplet onto the top surface of the metal plate in a manner that maintains the droplet as a single droplet having a substantially spherical shape as it contacts and freezes on the top surface;
• and
• e) lyophilizing the frozen droplet to produce a dried pellet of substantially spherical shape.