AU2015275284A1 - Nucleophilic Catalysts for Oxime Linkage - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to materials and methods of conjugating a water soluble polymer to an oxidized carbohydrate moiety of a therapeutic protein comprising contacting the oxidized carbohydrate moiety with an activated water soluble polymer under conditions that allow conjugation. More specifically, the present invention relates to the aforementioned materials and methods wherein the water soluble polymer contains an active aminooxy group and wherein an oxime or hydrazone linkage is formed between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety and the active aminooxy group on the water soluble polymer, and wherein the conjugation is carried out in the presence of a nucleophilic catalyst.

Description

NUCLEOPHILIC CATALYSTS FOR OXIME LINKAGE CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional application of Australian Application No. 2011282571, filed on 29 July 2011, and is related to International Patent Application No. PCT/US2011/045873, filed on 29 July 2011 and claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/369,186, filed on 30 July 2010; each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001a] The present invention relates to materials and methods for conjugating a water soluble polymer to a protein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The preparation of conjugates by forming a covalent linkage between the water soluble polymer and the therapeutic protein can be carried out by a variety of chemical methods. PEGylation of polypeptide drugs protects them in circulation and improves their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles (Harris and Chess, Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2003;2:214-21). The PEGylation process attaches repeating units of ethylene glycol (polyethylene glycol (PEG)) to a polypeptide drug. PEG molecules have a large hydrodynamic volume (5 - 10 times the size of globular proteins), are highly water soluble and hydrated, non toxic, non-immunogenic and rapidly cleared from the body. PEGylation of molecules can lead to increased resistance of drugs to enzymatic degradation, increased half-life in vivo, reduced dosing frequency, decreased immunogenicity, increased physical and thermal stability, increased solubility, increased liquid stability, and reduced aggregation. The first PEGylated drugs were approved by the FDA in the early 1990s. Since then, the FDA has approved several PEGylated drugs for oral, injectable, and topical administration. [0003] Polysialic acid (PSA), also referred to as colominic acid (CA), is a naturally occurring polysaccharide. It is a homopolymer of N-acetylneuraminic acid with a(2--8) ketosidic linkage and contains vicinal diol groups at its non-reducing end. It is negatively charged and a natural constituent of the human body. It can easily be produced from bacteria in large quantities and with pre-determined physical characteristics (US Patent No. 5,846,951). Because the bacterially-produced PSA is chemically and immunologically identical to PSA produced in the human body, bacterial PSA is non-immunogenic, even when coupled to proteins. Unlike some polymers, PSA acid is biodegradable. Covalent coupling of colominic -1Iacid to catalase and asparaginase has been shown to increase enzyme stability in the presence of proteolytic enzymes or blood plasma. Comparative studies in vivo with polysialylated and unmodified asparaginase revealed that polysialylation increased the half-life of the enzyme (Fernandes and Gregoriadis, Int J Pharm. 2001;217:215-24). [TEXT CONTINUES ON PAGE 2] - 1a- [0004] Coupling of PEG-derivatives to peptides or proteins is reviewed by Roberts et al. (Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2002;54:459-76). One approach for coupling water soluble polymers to therapeutic proteins is the conjugation of the polymers via the carbohydrate moieties of the protein. Vicinal hydroxyl (OH) groups of carbohydrates in proteins can be easily oxidized with sodium periodate (NaIO4) to form active aldehyde groups (Rothfus et Smith, J Biol Chem 1963; 238:1402-10; van Lenten et Ashwell, J Biol Chem 1971;246:1889-94). Subsequently the polymer can be coupled to the aldehyde groups of the carbohydrate by use of reagents containing, for example, an active hydrazide group (Wilchek M and Bayer EA, Methods Enzymol 1987;138:429-42). A more recent technology is the use of reagents containing aminooxy groups which react with aldehydes to form oxime linkages (WO 96/40662, W02008/025856). [0005] Additional examples describing conjugation of a water soluble polymer to a therapeutic protein are described in WO 06/071801 which teaches the oxidation of carbohydrate moieties in Von Willebrand factor and subsequent coupling to PEG using hydrazide chemistry; US Publication No. 2009/0076237 which teaches the oxidation of rFVIII and subsequent coupling to PEG and other water soluble polymers (e.g. PSA, HES, dextran) using hydrazide chemistry; WO 2008/025856 which teaches oxidation of different coagulation factors, e.g. rFIX, FVIII and FVIla and subsequent coupling to e.g., PEG, using aminooxy chemistry by forming an oxime linkage; and US Patent No. 5,621,039 which teaches the oxidation of FIX and subsequent coupling to PEG using hydrazide chemistry. [0006] Recently, an improved method was described comprising mild periodate oxidation of sialic acids to generate aldehydes followed by reaction with an aminooxy group containing reagent in the presence of catalytic amounts of aniline (Dirksen A., and Dawson PE, Bioconjugate Chem. 2008;19,2543-8; and Zeng Y et al., Nature Methods 2009;6:207-9). The aniline catalysis dramatically accelerates the oxime ligation, allowing the use of very low concentrations of the reagent. The use of nucelophilic catalysts are also described in Dirksen, A., et al., J Am Chem Soc., 128:15602-3 (2006); Dirksen, A., et al., Angew chem. Int Ed., 45:7581-4 (2006); Kohler, J.J., ChemBioChem., 10:2147-50 (2009); Giuseppone, N., et al., J Am Chem Soc., 127:5528-39 (2005); and Thygesen, M.B., et al., J Org Chem., 75:1752-5 (2010). [0007] Although aniline catalysis can accelerate the oxime ligation allowing short reaction times and the use of low concentrations of the aminooxy reagent, aniline has toxic properties that must be considered when, for example, the conjugated therapeutic protein to form the -2basis of a pharmaceutical. For example, aniline has been shown to induce methemoglobinemia (Harrison, J.H.., and Jollow, D.J., Molecular Pharmacology, 32(3) 423 431, 1987). Long-term dietary treatment of rats has been shown to induce tumors in the spleen (Goodman, DG., et al., J Natl Cancer Inst., 73(1):265-73, 1984). In vitro studies have also shown that aniline has the potential to induce chromosome mutations and has the potentially genotoxic activity ( Bombhard E.M. et Herbold B, Critical Reviews in Toxicology 35,783-835, 2005). [0008] Considering the potentially dangerous properties of aniline and notwithstanding the methods available of conjugating water soluble polymers to therapeutic proteins, there remains a need to develop materials and methods for conjugating water soluble polymers to proteins that improves the protein's pharmacodynamic and/or pharmacokinetic properties while minimizing the costs associated with the various reagents and minimizing the health risks to the patient recipient. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] The present invention provides materials and methods for conjugating polymers to proteins that improves the protein's pharmacodynamic and/or pharmacokinetic properties while minimizing the costs associated with the various reagents and the health risks to the patient recipients when the conjugation reaction is catalyzed by a nucleophilic catalyst. In various embodiments of the invention, alternative catalysts to substitute for aniline are provided. [0010] In one embodiment, a method of conjugating a water soluble polymer to an oxidized carbohydrate moiety of a therapeutic protein is provided comprising contacting the oxidized carbohydrate moiety with an activated water soluble polymer under conditions that allow conjugation; said water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group and is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 -3hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); and said carbohydrate moiety oxidized by incubation with a buffer comprising an oxidizing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO4), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc)4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); wherein an oxime linkage is formed between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety and the active aminooxy group on the water soluble polymer; and wherein said oxime linkage formation is catalyzed by a nucleophilic catalyst selected from the group consisting of o amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p anisidine. [0011] In another embodiment, a method of conjugating a water soluble polymer to an oxidized carbohydrate moiety of a therapeutic protein is provided comprising contacting the oxidized carbohydrate moiety with an activated water soluble polymer under conditions that allow conjugation; said therapeutic protein selected from the group consisting of Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XI (FXI), Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, tPA, PAI-i, tissue factor (TF),ADAMTS 13 protease, IL-I alpha, IL-I beta, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-11, colony stimulating factor-I (CSF-1), M-CSF, SCF, GM-CSF, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), EPO, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), consensus interferon, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, IFN-omega, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-14, IL-15, IL 16, IL-17, IL-18, IL-19, IL-20, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-24, IL-31, IL-32 alpha, IL-33, thrombopoietin (TPO), Ang-1, Ang-2, Ang-4, Ang-Y, angiopoietin-like polypeptide 1 (ANGPTL1), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 2 (ANGPTL2), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 3 (ANGPTL3), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 4 (ANGPTL4), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 5 (ANGPTL5), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 6 (ANGPTL6), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 7 (ANGPTL7), vitronectin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin, activin A, activin B, activin C, bone morphogenic protein-1, bone morphogenic protein-2, bone morphogenic protein-3, bone morphogenic protein-4, bone morphogenic protein-5, bone morphogenic protein-6, bone morphogenic protein-7, bone morphogenic protein-8, bone morphogenic protein-9, bone morphogenic protein-10, bone morphogenic protein- 11, bone morphogenic protein-12, bone morphogenic protein-13, bone morphogenic protein-14, bone morphogenic protein-15, bone morphogenic protein receptor IA, bone morphogenic protein receptor IB, bone morphogenic protein receptor II, brain derived neurotrophic factor, -4cardiotrophin- 1, ciliary neutrophic factor, ciliary neutrophic factor receptor, cripto, cryptic, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 1, cytokine-induced neutrophil, chemotactic factor 2a, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 23, 0 endothelial cell growth factor, endothelin 1, epidermal growth factor, epigen, epiregulin, epithelial-derived neutrophil attractant, fibroblast growth factor 4, fibroblast growth factor 5, fibroblast growth factor 6, fibroblast growth factor 7, fibroblast growth factor 8, fibroblast growth factor 8b, fibroblast growth factor 8c, fibroblast growth factor 9, fibroblast growth factor 10, fibroblast growth factor 11, fibroblast growth factor 12, fibroblast growth factor 13, fibroblast growth factor 16, fibroblast growth factor 17, fibroblast growth factor 19, fibroblast growth factor 20, fibroblast growth factor 21, fibroblast growth factor acidic, fibroblast growth factor basic, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor al , glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor a2, growth related protein, growth related protein a, growth related protein 3, growth related protein y, heparin binding epidermal growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor receptor, hepatoma-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor I, insulin like growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor II, insulin-like growth factor binding protein, keratinocyte growth factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor a, nerve growth factor nerve growth factor receptor, neuropoietin,neurotrophin-3, neurotrophin-4, oncostatin M (OSM), placenta growth factor, placenta growth factor 2, platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, platelet derived growth factor A chain, platelet derived growth factor AA, platelet derived growth factor AB, platelet derived growth factor B chain, platelet derived growth factor BB, platelet derived growth factor receptor a, platelet derived growth factor receptor 3, pre-B cell growth stimulating factor, stem cell factor (SCF), stem cell factor receptor, TNF, TNFO, TNF1, TNF2, transforming growth factor a, transforming growth factor 3, transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 01.2, transforming growth factor 32, transforming growth factor 33, transforming growth factor J5, latent transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein I, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein II, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein III, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), tumor necrosis factor receptor type I, tumor necrosis factor receptor type II, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, phospholipase-activating protein (PUP), insulin, lectin ricin, prolactin, chorionic gonadotropin, follicle- stimulating hormone, thyroid- stimulating hormone, tissue plasminogen activator, IgG, IgE, IgM, IgA, and IgD, a-galactosidase, 0 galactosidase, DNAse, fetuin, leutinizing hormone, estrogen, insulin, albumin, lipoproteins, fetoprotein, transferrin, thrombopoietin, urokinase, integrin, thrombin, leptin, Humira -5- (adalimumab), Prolia (denosumab), Enbrel (etanercept), a protein in Table 1, or a biologically active fragment, derivative or variant thereof; said water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group and is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); and said carbohydrate moiety oxidized by incubation with a buffer comprising an oxidizing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO4), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc)4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); wherein an oxime linkage is formed between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety and the active aminooxy group on the water soluble polymer; and wherein in said oxime linkage formation is catalyzed by a nucleophilic catalyst selected from the group consisting of o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p anisidine. [0012] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein a solution comprising an initial concentration of the therapeutic protein between about 0.3 mg/ml and about 3.0 mg/ml is adjusted to a pH value between about 5.0 and about 8.0 prior to contacting with the activated water soluble polymer. [0013] As used herein, the term "about" means a value above or below a stated value. In various embodiments, the term "about" includes the stated value plus or minus 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10% of the stated value. [0014] In yet another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the initial concentration of the therapeutic protein is about 1.0 mg/ml and the pH is about 6.0. In a related embodiment, the initial concentration of the therapeutic protein is about 0.75 mg/ml and the pH is about 6.0. In still another related embodiment, , the initial concentration of the therapeutic protein is about 1.25 mg/ml and the pH is about 6.0. -6- [0015] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the therapeutic protein is contacted by a desired excess concentration of activated water soluble polymer, wherein the excess concentration is between about 1-molar and about 300-molar excess. In another embodiment, the excess concentration is about 50-fold molar excess. [0016] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the therapeutic protein is incubated with the activated water soluble polymer under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.5 hours and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring. In another embodiment, the conditions comprise a time period of about 120 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light; and with stirring. As used herein, the term "stirring" is meant to include stirring at various speeds and intensities (e.g., gentle stirring) by commonly used laboratory or manufacturing equipment and products. [0017] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is added in an amount to result in a final concentration between about 1.0 mM and about 50 mM nucleophilic catalyst, under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.1 minutes and about 30 minutes; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring. In another embodiment, the final concentration of the nucleophilic catalyst is about 10 mM, and the conditions comprise a time period of up to about 15 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light; and with stirring. [0018] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the oxidizing agent is added in an amount to result in a final concentration between about 50 PM and about 1000 pM oxidizing agent, under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.1 minutes and 120 minutes; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring. In another embodiment, the final concentration of oxidizing agent is about 400 pM, and the conditions comprise a time period of about 10 minutes, a temperature of about 22 oC, the absence of light and with stirring. [0019] In yet another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the conjugating the water soluble polymer to the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein is stopped by the addition of a quenching agent selected from the group consisting of L-cysteine, methionine, glutathione, glycerol, sodium meta bisulfite (Na2S205), tryptophane, tyrosine, histidine or derivatives thereof, kresol, imidazol, and combinations thereof; wherein -7the quenching agent is added in an amount to result in a final concentration between about 1 mM and about 100 mM quenching agent, under conditions comprising a time period between about 5 minutes and about 120 minutes; a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring. In another embodiment, the quenching agent is L-cysteine. In still another embodiment, the L-cysteine is added to result in a final concentration of about 10 mM and the conditions comprise a time period ofabout 60 minutes, a temperature of about 22oC, the absence of light and with stirring. [0020] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided comprising: a) a first step comprising adjusting the pH value of a solution comprising the therapeutic protein to a pH value betweenabout 5.0 and about 8.0, wherein the therapeutic protein concentration is between about 0.3 mg/ml and about 3.0 mg/ml; b) a second step comprising oxidizing one or more carbohydrates on the therapeutic protein, wherein the oxidizing agent is added to the solution in the first step to result in a final concentration between about 50PM and about 1000 M, under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.1 minutes and about 120 minutes; a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; c) a third step comprising contacting the therapeutic protein with a desired excess concentration of activated water soluble polymer, wherein the excess concentration is between about 1-molar excess and about 300-molar excess, under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.5 hours and about 24 hours, a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; d) a fourth step comprising adding a nucleophilic catalyst to the solution of the third step, wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is added to result in a final concentration between about 1 mM and about 50 mM, under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.1 minutes and about 30 minutes; a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; e) a fifth step wherein the therapeutic protein is incubated with the activated water soluble polymer and nucleophilic catalyst under conditions that allow conjugation of the activated water-soluble polymer to one or more oxidized carbohydrates on the therapeutic protein, said conditions comprising a time period between about 0.5 hours and about 24 hours, a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; and f) a sixth step wherein the conjugating the water soluble polymer to the one or more oxidized carbohydrates of the therapeutic protein in the fifth step is stopped by the addition of a quenching agent selected from the group consisting of L-cysteine, methionine, glutathione, -8 glycerol, Na2S205 (sodium meta bisulfite), tryptophane, tyrosine, histidine or derivatives thereof, kresol, imidazol, and combinations thereof; wherein the quenching agent is added to result in a final concentration of about 1 mM and about 100 mM, under conditions comprising a time period between about 5 minutes and about 120 minutes; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring. In another embodiment, the initial concentration of the therapeutic protein in the first step is about 1 mg/ml and the pH is about 6.0; wherein the final concentration of oxidizing agent in the second step is about 400 pM, and the conditions in the fifth step comprise a time period of about 10 minutes, a temperature of about 22 oC, the absence of light and with stirring; wherein the excess concentration in the third step is about 50 molar excess; wherein the conditions in the third step comprise a time period of about 15 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light and with stirring; wherein the final concentration of the nucleophilic catalyst in the fourth step is about 10 mM, and the conditions in the fourth step comprise a time period of about 15 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light and with stirring; wherein the conditions of incubating the therapeutic protein with the activated water soluble polymer and nucleophilic catalyst in the fifth step comprise a time period of about 2 hours; a temperature of about 22'C; the absence of light; and with stirring; and wherein the quenching agent in the sixth step is L-cysteine; and wherein the L-cysteine is added to result in a final concentration of about 10 mM and the conditions in the sixth step comprise a time period of about 60 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light and with stirring. [0021] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the water soluble polymer is PSA. In another embodinment the PSA is comprised of about 10 - 300 sialic acid units. In another embodiment, the water soluble polymer is PEG. In another embodiment, the water soluble polymer is HES. In still another embodiment, the water soluble polymer is HAS. [0022] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the therapeutic protein is FIX. In another embodiment, the therapeutic protein is FVIIa. In another embodiment, the therapeutic protein is FVIII. [0023] In yet another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the oxidizing agent is sodium periodate (NaIO4). - 9- [0024] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein is located in the activation peptide of the blood coagulation protein. [0025] In one embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein PSA is prepared by reacting an activated aminooxy linker with oxidized PSA; wherein the aminooxy linker is selected from the group consisting of: a) a 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine linker of the formula:

H

2 N O-~ N~~ jH 2 b) a 3,6,9-trioxa-undecane-1,11-dioxyamine linker of the formula: and c) a 3,6,9,12,15-penatoxa-heptadecane- 1,17-dioxyamine linker of the formula: H 2 N H 2 [0026] wherein the PSA is oxidized by incubation with a oxidizing agent to form a terminal aldehyde group at the non-reducing end of the PSA. In a related embodiment, the aminooxy linker is 3-oxa-pentane- 1,5-dioxyamine. [0027] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the oxidizing agent is NaIO4. [0028] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is provided at a concentration between about 1 mM and about 50 mM. In one embodiment, the nucleophilic catalyst is m-toluidine. In still another embodiment, the m-toluidine is present in the conjugation reaction at a concentration of about 10 mM. [0029] In yet another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided further comprising the step of reducing an oxime linkage in the conjugated therapeutic protein by incubating the conjugated therapeutic protein in a buffer comprising a reducing compound selected from the group consisting of sodium cyanoborohydride (NaCNBH3), ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and NaBH3. In one embodiment, the reducing compound is sodium cyanoborohydride (NaCNBH3). - 10 - [0030] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided further comprising the step of purifying the conjugated therapeutic protein. In another embodiment, the conjugated therapeutic protein is purified by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation. In another embodiment, the chromatography is selected from the group consisting of Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC), Ion Exchange chromatography (IEC), Size exclusion chromatography (SEC), Affinity chromatography, and Reversed-phase chromatography. In still another embodiment, an anti chaotropic salt is used in a chromotagraphy loading step and in a chromatography washing step. In yet another embodiment, the chromatography takes place in a column. In another embodiment, the column comprises a chromatography resin selected from the group consisting of Phenyl-Sepharose FF and Butyl-Sepharose FF. In another embodiment, the resin is present in the column at a bed height of between about 5 cm and about 20 cm. In one embodiment, the bed height is about 10 cm. [0031] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided comprising one or more washing steps wherein flow direction is set to up-flow and wherein the flow rate is between about 0.2 cm/min and about 6.7 cm/min. As used herein, the term "down-flow" refers to a flow direction from the top of the chromatographic column to the bottom of the chromatographic column (normal flow direction / standard mode). As used herein, the term "up-flow" refers to a flow direction from the bottom to the top of the column (reversed flow direction). In one embodiment, the flow rate is about 2 cm/min. [0032] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided comprising one or more elution steps wherein flow direction is set to down-flow and wherein the flow rate is between about 0.1 cm/min and about 6.7 cm/min. In a related embodiment, the flow rate is about 1 cm/min. [0033] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided comprising concentrating the conjugated therapeutic protein by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF). In another embodiment, the final concentration of therapeutic protein is between about 0.5 and about 3 mg/ml. [0034] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the therapeutic protein comprises between about 5 and about 11 water-soluble polymer moieties. In another embodiment, the therapeutic protein comprises between about 1 and about 3 water-soluble polymers. - 11 - [0035] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the conjugated therapeutic protein is purified using chromatography; wherein an anti-chaotropic salt is used for a loading step and for a washing step; the method comprising one or more washing steps wherein flow direction is set to up-flow and wherein the flow rate is between about 0.2 cm/min and about 6.7 cm/min and one or more elution steps wherein flow direction is set to down-flow and wherein the flow rate is between about 0.2 cm/min andabout 6.7 cm/min; further comprising concentrating the conjugated therapeutic protein by ultra /diafiltration (UF/DF). In another embodiment, the chromatography is hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC); wherein the one or more washing steps flow rate is about 2 cm/min; and wherein the one or more elution steps flow rate is about 1 cm/min. [0036] In another embodiment, a modified therapeutic protein produced by any of the aforementioned methods is provided. [0037] In still another embodiment, a method of forming an oxime linkage between an oxidized carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein and an activated water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is provided comprising the steps of: a) oxidizing a carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein by incubating said protein with an oxidizing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO4), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc)4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); and b) forming an oxime linkage between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein and the activated water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group in the presence of a nuclephilic catalyst under conditions allowing formation of said oxime linkage; wherein said water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is selected from the group consisting polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co maleic acid anhydride, poly(1-hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2 methacryloyloxy-2'-ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, - 12 p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o-aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p-anisidine. [0038] In yet another embodiment, a method of forming an oxime linkage between an oxidized carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein and an activated water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is provided comprising the steps of: a) oxidizing a carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein by incubating said protein with an oxidinzing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO4), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc)4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); and b) forming an oxime linkage between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein and the activated water soluble polymer containing an an active aminooxy group in the presence of a nuclephilic catalyst under conditions allowing formation of said oxime linkage; wherein the therapeutic protein is selected from the group consisting of Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XI (FXI), Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, tPA, PAI-i, tissue factor (TF),ADAMTS 13 protease, IL-I alpha, IL-I beta, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-11, colony stimulating factor-I (CSF-1), M-CSF, SCF, GM-CSF, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), EPO, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), consensus interferon, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, IFN-omega, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-14, IL-15, IL-16, IL-17, IL-18, IL-19, IL-20, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-24, IL-31, IL-32 alpha, IL-33, thrombopoietin (TPO), Ang-1, Ang-2, Ang-4, Ang-Y, angiopoietin-like polypeptide I (ANGPTLi), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 2 (ANGPTL2), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 3 (ANGPTL3), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 4 (ANGPTL4), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 5 (ANGPTL5), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 6 (ANGPTL6), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 7 (ANGPTL7), vitronectin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin, activin A, activin B, activin C, bone morphogenic protein-1, bone morphogenic protein-2, bone morphogenic protein-3, bone morphogenic protein-4, bone morphogenic protein-5, bone morphogenic protein-6, bone morphogenic protein-7, bone morphogenic protein-8, bone morphogenic protein-9, bone morphogenic protein-10, bone morphogenic protein- 11, bone morphogenic protein-12, bone morphogenic protein-13, bone morphogenic protein-14, bone morphogenic protein-15, bone morphogenic protein receptor IA, bone morphogenic protein receptor IB, bone morphogenic protein receptor II, brain derived neurotrophic factor, cardiotrophin- 1, ciliary neutrophic factor, ciliary neutrophic factor receptor, cripto, cryptic, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 1, cytokine-induced neutrophil, chemotactic factor 2a, cytokine-induced - 13 neutrophil chemotactic factor 2J, 0 endothelial cell growth factor, endothelin 1, epidermal growth factor, epigen, epiregulin, epithelial-derived neutrophil attractant, fibroblast growth factor 4, fibroblast growth factor 5, fibroblast growth factor 6, fibroblast growth factor 7, fibroblast growth factor 8, fibroblast growth factor 8b, fibroblast growth factor 8c, fibroblast growth factor 9, fibroblast growth factor 10, fibroblast growth factor 11, fibroblast growth factor 12, fibroblast growth factor 13, fibroblast growth factor 16, fibroblast growth factor 17, fibroblast growth factor 19, fibroblast growth factor 20, fibroblast growth factor 21, fibroblast growth factor acidic, fibroblast growth factor basic, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor al, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor U2, growth related protein, growth related protein a, growth related protein J, growth related protein y, heparin binding epidermal growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor receptor, hepatoma-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor I, insulin-like growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor II, insulin-like growth factor binding protein, keratinocyte growth factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor a, nerve growth factor nerve growth factor receptor, neuropoietin,neurotrophin-3, neurotrophin-4, oncostatin M (OSM), placenta growth factor, placenta growth factor 2, platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, platelet derived growth factor A chain, platelet derived growth factor AA, platelet derived growth factor AB, platelet derived growth factor B chain, platelet derived growth factor BB, platelet derived growth factor receptor a, platelet derived growth factor receptor J, pre-B cell growth stimulating factor, stem cell factor (SCF), stem cell factor receptor, TNF, TNFO, TNF1, TNF2, transforming growth factor a, transforming growth factor J, transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 01.2, transforming growth factor 02, transforming growth factor J3, transforming growth factor J5, latent transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein I, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein II, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein III, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), tumor necrosis factor receptor type I, tumor necrosis factor receptor type II, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, phospholipase-activating protein (PUP), insulin, lectin ricin, prolactin, chorionic gonadotropin, follicle-stimulating hormone, thyroid- stimulating hormone, tissue plasminogen activator, IgG, IgE, IgM, IgA, and IgD, a-galactosidase, P-galactosidase, DNAse, fetuin, leutinizing hormone, estrogen, insulin, albumin, lipoproteins, fetoprotein, transferrin, thrombopoietin, urokinase, integrin, thrombin, leptin, Humira (adalimumab), Prolia (denosumab), Enbrel (etanercept), a protein from Table 1, or a biologically active fragment, derivative or variant thereof; wherein said water soluble polymer containing an active - 14 aminooxy group is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o-aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m anisidine, and p-anisidine. [0039] In yet another embodiment, a method of forming a hydrazone linkage between an oxidized carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein and an activated water soluble polymer containing an active hydrazide group is provided comprising the steps of: a) oxidizing a carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein by incubating said protein with an oxidinzing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO4), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc)4) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); and b) forming a hydrazone linkage between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein and the activated water soluble polymer containing an an active hydrazide group in the presence of a nuclephilic catalyst under conditions allowing formation of said hydrazone linkage; wherein said water soluble polymer containing an active hydrazide group is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co maleic acid anhydride, poly(1-hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2 methacryloyloxy-2'-ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, - 15 p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o-aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p-anisidine. [0040] In another embodiment, a method of forming a hydrazone linkage between an oxidized carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein and an activated water soluble polymer containing an active hydrazide group comprising the steps of: a) oxidizing a carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein by incubating said protein with an oxidinzing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO4), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc)4) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); and b) forming a hydrazone linkage between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein and the activated water soluble polymer containing an an active hydrazide group in the presence of a nuclephilic catalyst under conditions allowing formation of said hydrazone linkage; wherein the therapeutic protein is selected from the group consisting of Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XI (FXI), Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, tPA, PAI-i, tissue factor (TF),ADAMTS 13 protease, IL-I alpha, IL-I beta, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-11, colony stimulating factor-I (CSF-1), M-CSF, SCF, GM-CSF, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), EPO, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), consensus interferon, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, IFN-omega, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-14, IL-15, IL-16, IL-17, IL-18, IL-19, IL-20, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-24, IL-31, IL-32 alpha, IL-33, thrombopoietin (TPO), Ang-1, Ang-2, Ang-4, Ang-Y, angiopoietin-like polypeptide I (ANGPTLi), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 2 (ANGPTL2), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 3 (ANGPTL3), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 4 (ANGPTL4), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 5 (ANGPTL5), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 6 (ANGPTL6), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 7 (ANGPTL7), vitronectin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin, activin A, activin B, activin C, bone morphogenic protein-1, bone morphogenic protein-2, bone morphogenic protein-3, bone morphogenic protein-4, bone morphogenic protein-5, bone morphogenic protein-6, bone morphogenic protein-7, bone morphogenic protein-8, bone morphogenic protein-9, bone morphogenic protein-10, bone morphogenic protein- 11, bone morphogenic protein-12, bone morphogenic protein-13, bone morphogenic protein-14, bone morphogenic protein-15, bone morphogenic protein receptor IA, bone morphogenic protein receptor IB, bone morphogenic protein receptor II, brain derived neurotrophic factor, cardiotrophin- 1, ciliary neutrophic factor, ciliary neutrophic factor receptor, cripto, cryptic, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 1, cytokine-induced neutrophil, chemotactic factor 2a, cytokine-induced - 16 neutrophil chemotactic factor 2J, 0 endothelial cell growth factor, endothelin 1, epidermal growth factor, epigen, epiregulin, epithelial-derived neutrophil attractant, fibroblast growth factor 4, fibroblast growth factor 5, fibroblast growth factor 6, fibroblast growth factor 7, fibroblast growth factor 8, fibroblast growth factor 8b, fibroblast growth factor 8c, fibroblast growth factor 9, fibroblast growth factor 10, fibroblast growth factor 11, fibroblast growth factor 12, fibroblast growth factor 13, fibroblast growth factor 16, fibroblast growth factor 17, fibroblast growth factor 19, fibroblast growth factor 20, fibroblast growth factor 21, fibroblast growth factor acidic, fibroblast growth factor basic, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor al, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor U2, growth related protein, growth related protein a, growth related protein J, growth related protein y, heparin binding epidermal growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor receptor, hepatoma-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor I, insulin-like growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor II, insulin-like growth factor binding protein, keratinocyte growth factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor a, nerve growth factor nerve growth factor receptor, neuropoietin,neurotrophin-3, neurotrophin-4, oncostatin M (OSM), placenta growth factor, placenta growth factor 2, platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, platelet derived growth factor A chain, platelet derived growth factor AA, platelet derived growth factor AB, platelet derived growth factor B chain, platelet derived growth factor BB, platelet derived growth factor receptor a, platelet derived growth factor receptor J, pre-B cell growth stimulating factor, stem cell factor (SCF), stem cell factor receptor, TNF, TNFO, TNF1, TNF2, transforming growth factor a, transforming growth factor J, transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 01.2, transforming growth factor 02, transforming growth factor J3, transforming growth factor J5, latent transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein I, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein II, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein III, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), tumor necrosis factor receptor type I, tumor necrosis factor receptor type II, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, phospholipase-activating protein (PUP), insulin, lectin ricin, prolactin, chorionic gonadotropin, follicle-stimulating hormone, thyroid- stimulating hormone, tissue plasminogen activator, IgG, IgE, IgM, IgA, and IgD, a-galactosidase, P-galactosidase, DNAse, fetuin, leutinizing hormone, estrogen, insulin, albumin, lipoproteins, fetoprotein, transferrin, thrombopoietin, urokinase, integrin, thrombin, leptin, Humira (adalimumab), Prolia (denosumab), Enbrel (etanercept), a protein from Table 1, or a biologically active fragment, derivative or variant thereof; wherein said water soluble polymer containing an active - 17 hydrazide group is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o-aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m anisidine, and p-anisidine. [0041] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is prepared by a method comprising: incubating a solution comprising an oxidized water-soluble polymer with an activated aminooxy linker comprising an active aminooxy group under conditions that allow the formation of a stable oxime linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker, said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; thereby forming a water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group; and b) purifying the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation. The term "activated water-soluble polymer" referes, in one embodiment, to a water-soluble polyer containing an aldehyde group. [0042] In yet another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is prepared by a method comprising: a) incubating a solution comprising an oxidized water-soluble polymer with an activated aminooxy linker comprising an active aminooxy group under conditions that allow the formation of a stable oxime linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker, said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; thereby forming a water soluble polymer - 18 containing an active aminooxy group; b) incubating a solution comprising the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group of step a) with a reducing agent under conditions that allow the formation of a stable alkoxamine linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker., said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; and c) purifying the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation. [0043] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is prepared by a method comprising: a) incubating a solution comprising an oxidized water-soluble polymer with an activated aminooxy linker comprising an active aminooxy group under conditions that allow the formation of a stable oxime linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker, said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; thereby forming a water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group; b) incubating a solution comprising the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group of step a) with a nucleophilic catalyst under conditions comprising a time period between 1 minute and 24 hours; a temperature between 2'C and 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; and c) purifying the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation. [0044] In yet another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is prepared by a method comprising: a) incubating a solution comprising an oxidized water-soluble polymer with an activated aminooxy linker comprising an active aminooxy group under conditions that allow the formation of a stable oxime linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker, said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; thereby forming a water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group; b) incubating a solution comprising the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group of step a) with a nucleophilic catalyst under conditions comprising a time period between 1 minute and 24 hours; a temperature between - 19 - 2'C and 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; c) incubating a solution comprising the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group of step b) with a reducing agent under conditions that allow the formation of a stable alkoxamine linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker., said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; and d) purifying the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation. [0045] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the oxidized water soluble polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC), and wherein said water-soluble polymer is oxidized by incubation with a oxidizing agent to form a terminal aldehyde group at the non reducing end of the water-soluble polymer. In one embodiment, the water-soluble polymer is PSA. [0046] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the oxidizing agent is NaIO4. [0047] In still another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the aminooxy linker is selected from the group consisting of: a) a 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine linker of the formula: -20b) a 3,6,9-trioxa-undecane-1,11-dioxyamine linker of the formula: and c) a 3,6,9,12,15-penatoxa-heptadecane- 1,17-dioxyamine linker of the formula: H 2 N o' O O 0N

H

2 [0048] In yet another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the reducing agent is selected from the group consisting of sodium cyanoborohydride (NaCNBH3), ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and NaBH3. In one embodiment, the reducing agent is sodium cyanoborohydride (NaCNBH3). [0049] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o-aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p-anisidine. In one embodiment, the nucleophilic catalyst is m-toluidine. In another embodiment, the nucleophilic catalyst is added in an amount to result in a final concentration between about 1.0 mM and about 50 mM nucleophilic catalyst. [0050] In another embodiment, an aforementioned method is provided further comprising concentrating the conjugated therapeutic protein by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF). FIGURES [0051] Figure 1 shows the primary structure of coagulation Factor IX (SEQ ID NO: 1). [0052] Figure 2 shows the coupling of oxidized rFIX to aminooxy-PSA. [0053] Figure 3 shows the synthesis of the water soluble di-aminoxy linkers 3-oxa pentane- 1,5-dioxyamine and 3,6,9-trioxa-undecane- 1,11 -dioxyamine. [0054] Figure 4 shows the preparation of aminooxy-PSA. [0055] Figure 5 shows the visualization of PSA-FIX conjugates prepared in the presence of different catalysts by SDS PAGE. a) Comparison of aniline with m-toluidine using different concentrations; b) Comparison of aniline with o-aminobenzoic acid, m-aminobenzoic acid, -21p-aminobenzoic acid, p-aminobenzamide and sulfanilic acid; c) Comparison of aniline and m-toluidine with o-anisidine and m-anisidine. [0056] Figure 6 shows percent of polysialylation with various nucleophilic catalysts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0057] The pharmacological and immunological properties of therapeutic proteins can be improved by chemical modification and conjugation with polymeric compounds such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, polysialic acid (PSA), hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1-hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2'-ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC). The properties of the resulting conjugates generally strongly depend on the structure and the size of the polymer. Thus, polymers with a defined and narrow size distribution are usually preferred in the art. Synthetic polymers like PEG can be manufactured easily with a narrow size distribution, while PSA can be purified in such a manner that results in a final PSA preparation with a narrow size distribution. In addition PEGylation reagents with defined polymer chains and narrow size distribution are on the market and commercially available for a reasonable price. [0058] The addition of a soluble polymer, such as through polysialylation, is one approach to improve the properties of therapeutic proteins such as the blood coagulation protein FIX, as well as other coagulation proteins (e.g., VWF, FVIIa (see, e.g., US 2008/0221032A1, incorporated herein by reference) and FVIII). THERAPEUTIC PROTEINS [0059] In certain embodiments of the invention, the aforementioned polypeptides and polynucleotides are exemplified by the following therapeutic proteins: enzymes, antigens, antibodies, receptors, blood coagulation proteins, growth factors, hormones, and ligands. In certain embodiments, the therapeutic protein is a blood coagulation protein such as Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XI (FXI), Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, - 22 tPA, PAI-i, tissue factor (TF) or ADAMTS 13 protease. In one embodiment, a therapeutic protein according to the invention is a glycoprotein or, in various embodiments, a protein that is not naturally glycosylated in vivo (i.e., a protein that does not contain a natural glycosylation site or a protein that is not glycosylated in a host cell prior to purification). [0060] In certain embodiments, the therapeutic protein is immunoglobulins, cytokines such IL-I alpha, IL-I beta, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-11, colony stimulating factor-I (CSF 1), M-CSF, SCF, GM-CSF, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), EPO, interferon alpha (IFN-alpha), consensus interferon, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, IFN-omega, IL-7, IL-8, IL 9, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-14, IL-15, IL-16, IL-17, IL-18, IL-19, IL-20, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-24, IL-31, IL-32 alpha, IL-33, thrombopoietin (TPO), angiopoietins, for example Ang-1, Ang-2, Ang-4, Ang-Y, the human angiopoietin-like polypeptides ANGPTL1 through 7, vitronectin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin, activin A, activin B, activin C, bone morphogenic protein-1, bone morphogenic protein-2, bone morphogenic protein-3, bone morphogenic protein-4, bone morphogenic protein-5, bone morphogenic protein-6, bone morphogenic protein-7, bone morphogenic protein-8, bone morphogenic protein-9, bone morphogenic protein-10, bone morphogenic protein- 11, bone morphogenic protein-12, bone morphogenic protein-13, bone morphogenic protein-14, bone morphogenic protein-15, bone morphogenic protein receptor IA, bone morphogenic protein receptor IB, bone morphogenic protein receptor II, brain derived neurotrophic factor, cardiotrophin- 1, ciliary neutrophic factor, ciliary neutrophic factor receptor, cripto, cryptic, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 1, cytokine-induced neutrophil, chemotactic factor 2a, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 23, 0 endothelial cell growth factor, endothelin 1, epidermal growth factor, epigen, epiregulin, epithelial-derived neutrophil attractant, fibroblast growth factor 4, fibroblast growth factor 5, fibroblast growth factor 6, fibroblast growth factor 7, fibroblast growth factor 8, fibroblast growth factor 8b, fibroblast growth factor 8c, fibroblast growth factor 9, fibroblast growth factor 10, fibroblast growth factor 11, fibroblast growth factor 12, fibroblast growth factor 13, fibroblast growth factor 16, fibroblast growth factor 17, fibroblast growth factor 19, fibroblast growth factor 20, fibroblast growth factor 21, fibroblast growth factor acidic, fibroblast growth factor basic, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor a I, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor a2, growth related protein, growth related protein a, growth related protein 3, growth related protein y, heparin binding epidermal growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor receptor, hepatoma-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor I, insulin -23like growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor II, insulin-like growth factor binding protein, keratinocyte growth factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor a, nerve growth factor nerve growth factor receptor, neuropoietin,neurotrophin-3, neurotrophin-4, oncostatin M (OSM), placenta growth factor, placenta growth factor 2, platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, platelet derived growth factor A chain, platelet derived growth factor AA, platelet derived growth factor AB, platelet derived growth factor B chain, platelet derived growth factor BB, platelet derived growth factor receptor a, platelet derived growth factor receptor J, pre-B cell growth stimulating factor, stem cell factor (SCF), stem cell factor receptor, TNF, including TNFO, TNF1, TNF2, transforming growth factor a, transforming growth factor J, transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 01.2, transforming growth factor 02, transforming growth factor J3, transforming growth factor J5, latent transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein I, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein II, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein III, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), tumor necrosis factor receptor type I, tumor necrosis factor receptor type II, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and chimeric proteins and biologically or immunologically active fragments thereof. [0061] In certain embodiments, the therapeutic protin is alpha-, beta-, and gamma interferons, colony stimulating factors including granulocyte colony stimulating factors, fibroblast growth factors, platelet derived growth factors, phospholipase-activating protein (PUP), insulin, plant proteins such as lectins and ricins, tumor necrosis factors and related alleles, soluble forms of tumor necrosis factor receptors, interleukin receptors and soluble forms of interleukin receptors, growth factors such as tissue growth factors, such as TGFas or TGFs and epidermal growth factors, hormones, somatomedins, pigmentary hormones, hypothalamic releasing factors, antidiuretic hormones, prolactin, chorionic gonadotropin, follicle- stimulating hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, tissue plasminogen activator, and immunoglobulins such as IgG, IgE, IgM, IgA, and IgD, a galactosidase, a-galactosidase, galactosidase, DNAse, fetuin, leutinizing hormone, estrogen, corticosteroids, insulin, albumin, lipoproteins, fetoprotein, transferrin, thrombopoietin, urokinase, DNase, integrins, thrombin, hematopoietic growth actors, leptin, glycosidases, Humira (adalimumab), Prolia (denosumab), Enbrel (etanercept), and fragments thereof, or any fusion proteins comprising any of the above mentioned proteins or fragments thereof. In addition to the aforementioned - 24 proteins, the following Table 1 provides therapeutic proteins contemplated by the present invention: - 25 - 0) c0 aa C a c N -o -io S co - co 0 cO a 0 r 0 0) 0 '-' ( - o - - 0'-'-C o 'T LL - - a ao c ' - 0) - o E .. > 0 - a o o a) o - 0 'o 2 a a - - - o o o o _ E ~ o o - 0 - a .ifL oc wo 0 E con 2 a C J0) 9 0 a) 0 - a L a E -2 E E0 E a .) C- Q) Eoe2 Nf - a) (o V co _ o E o7 o o'- 2 Y -oco o c - )-c o m 4(5 5- r 22 2 0 '1 D a -co co22a2c oCa 0)a0C 2 a 0 a o ) oC -r EE ,<- E o oC a 'L az= 42E a) a) ) a) 0 a) ac a= z N o N 0 0 a *C a c-c - U) E a a , _ a co co (n c - o E - M o~~~ ~ Wm c\ W.-0... 0 =cc .. c ~0 o 0 -E C-- a) N o ao * 2 2 2. E 22 22 2NE -02 oo 22 a a . E02 c Ic a 2NO 0 o )a o 2- - < D a cr 6 C) 0) co-- 0j 2 2L co S 0 -0() a 0 Z = -'-' < 0 E E E E 0 a 2?ao 4 2 Nao2 o-o o e o Q co. O 0- O O . C aa)0. L, c, ca -F oo 2 cu- - - o a o ea o Q - e Q E(D ro- S 2 2 2 2 c 5 E r 2 a) a o 20 20 2Dco aa a)EEo~oCON U)c Q4nt0 Uy)v)a 2 Dco Q) *2u~ (a aco a 2 E - L ~ ao -eg _ E g g g V> O x . o D a E0) O0 E E E E E ~ - -'' I 0 0 ~ - - -i o e a Co 0).' wto o o ~22 y Oo -t -. o U anan c E - 2 (a ~ 2 2 n o 2 E -or 0 o e a oem a- - 2 cco a_ _ -2= Ewwo-c- ooawcoo2 tVe o ,t . PF i oa- mcnoFD E ex) E2 '- ~ = 2 o o o a x = t o Lo e E 4 -C E o o 0 a) a 2 0> m a 0 oc Q_ O O OO O oD OO 0 2 -D u -u E 2 E o 0 c a a ,- o L E 4, c) 0 2 co a rc N 3 U- , a V E 0+ - 0 - - c a~ = e2 n co o _ caow n, a a t 2 aa r < c 2 0 ' a Co o O oa 4-' c a c - < c c c a ca . - _ ' n a 0 0 . o o -i 0-N M o* M c_3 0 o( a) c QU z) F= o o 2. -0 Lo < E3gc9 . a) . _ - o a 0. a a a - c o a .c . - o o o c - c - o I r 0 ) 4= a0) ) rx ; 0 F EN Ci) * - -_ o a _ . - 0) ) 00 n E O a a- ') a E 2 =ac o E- LL F=ao E ' n ox CCC 0 =V) o 0 ) *o* * 455 2 n2 -U) a2 ) 5C 1)a M -oww C 2>Q ; o O aa as En -= a o a E Eo E55o ~ii 0 :3 -13 a:) iias0a a o0 o eo o o o % PY.-ci .

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0 = 2 02 w S 0 a)O C2 w73 ' - 0 aaa w 205 6 0 w t . 0 0 a) 03~ -'L -l N) ww >l E0 00 9a o9Q a) 'to .2f . 0 w w w o wc w- w rr - D-~ ~ ' O 5 o a' ' a - c: w0 5=L 2z 0 0 t 0 o w- o-w a) C0t~ O ~ 0 F ~ ~ U IL w- O.- F- wowao 0 La - ,j C)< - z z< 2 ' LC ao I U) 5o~ w w ) aOC)a~ t~~ a~~~~Q wl -oP 20w3 Er o ~ E 3 w cccc cccr ccrn ooo 20 00 0~au c w.o .a w M 2 _t 0 0 -41 0) 0 aD ao 0 w E < a - E -a C 0 0 4d 0 = 2 -FO ) _f o E o o (D - E Za)C cc= >o N- ) 2 2- F ~2 o E 2 to o :3 ca a - a UE F= o - cd c a 0* in -o o c o E - . 7 O - . > E _s_ o = - E o - -O Cf) LOe n n 2 m Co- a 2 0 oS a r n - 0 -- 0 : - o' o - a) ' 0d 0 , -D Cd ~ 2 2 ' - ~ o -L- ' a - 0 C on C LE a* c- * o - 2 a) E2 < 5~E - t_ -S "~ a) -L -. Q o - E 3 6 i .. , - L coo o -E o0 C ~~-Cd0 00 aa) ~uCd a ~c L 05 E u-c-L-s-~ 55; 8 = - c- -oxEgcix-~ o ~0 sf~ '_ o 0 -0C a0C c.?EC~ ) E ~ELC o a2 E: o' o< i- (a -5 a) -a Eo -a' c - x 4nt-o c (R 4 - -aa.L 05 _>, 0 =aL0 M M c 2 .2 o E aafl.-0.- w oN o o o r _c C) 0--u --- -- OL) C)O0 < C) Ir >< Cd-Coa'=. Iaa (3 C) z- 2 ra2 C o 2 220 2 o Cd =2- so~Cad~ o6 2 a I o a -0 - - E c0 Q - c a E E.9 0r c -C- - o -- . \ a .c a a~ . 0a~ 0 C) 0?~~da C:~ ,C L2C~ 0) (/CL C/ C> 0 0 0o0E to Cd - 0 E . = C . n - N c , r C a , -I - , - - . ' - 0 o1o - 'o E - c 0 0o o - d0 - a (ae -c -a L - a) c >oE 6 2I (D C L > 0 ) Cl 2aa V) 0d Ea m C 0 -ca * E w * ' -40to 0-0 0 0o C 2c'E c 9 0 Cd.

0 2 -c aa moxx - 0 a CO- 0d- - ~ o a ->- o c ? ~ .9. 9 >, 2 C gE o - 0 . o >, . a ,O x - tE 0- -c v) a o 0 x ' Cd o < 0 r E o aa 0 a-e E.0 - E L) :cc E )Q 0 ~ 0 = Cd C: CO dC O C ' m a o E -i o - oa a - C- - o3 c a 0 j . to E, a o o= o o .0 - o a a 1 U) aar .

0 - - -C 9 := o9E 9 .> . r a -- = c a 0 . -a ~ - d 4 ~~ M c o C C . c . C ~=> ' ' nd~ CO*.c .c o -a a O O. .Z--> o--2 - - - C dc - a ( C Y > U CP 2 .

m -)~o . CCto aam C: to 0 =.o Cd Cdd 0 aa _ Cdo o--- o -- >0 c c '- N -- -2 o 00cJto on. Cda0- I E o .o -x c C' -N oCn -a E E l-) C0o-o c- ---- - - 'C a0 F0a.>.E C< 4

-

0O - N oo o ( a F a- . .oo 0 0o a 2-.Q o _- Ed ad (I O- . aa L.. -d - J J Z c- a E co U) 0 ) CdoC 0 0 9o .o t (D- o a-Q- I0 0=2- _ - 2 - co w CI -F o o) a) -coo c o o E- - > C2 a. -a o .2_ -oa 2 a n 9 c l C crE o O C.' ! 9c=o a G o >= 2 Q c N ' _E a Cda. -i c.> 3 o y35o . N E - a '- o 0 ~ 0- 0 <. m aD- Cd 0C C d= .2 C d EO a c i---rO - .. ' ~- 'a o s a- C 0 ao-'l -' > --- z .r o.'- d 0 - c ~ ' ' ' C. O - - - E ) 0 0 - Fc -n 2 ao c -~ - = C o - -c a -E0 C L 0 L E = o2j 0 (n0 )o a a Cd C d - a~ 2 - 8 -- < g c) t- c. dr > a- o . a~ -2 () Cd' to a)75O dC ( lU Cd 0 0 y )W d Cd 0 Cd a CC X d~~~ -E Q) S C -- t N >1F =0 0o C aa)> to .r > c ,a ma -- > u. <a 2 22 2200. a 2 a o - .. 0c -1 ..- E E - E 0n . im -o.. 3 0 0. '- 4 :8 Lu2 a)d00 -a 0 , D a) Z34 Cd )Ot ~ on Ia Lo t o-a2 C 04-u a~dot2~N)ato ) 0 Cd 0d a)d'-S9J a 2 Y D- o a- d Cd C0C a)~ 02-"' ~~00 ao) CE C L a (n 0 nrD 2 EtC9 d W 2 a ~ ~ ~ 0 .00 Cdn ot C 4 -~5C 2 22aU)6! CdN=do-. tU -D Sn Wa))0 HO - .9 0-wn . LLon aC 422 C ), C/ CC La CC: 1 9 EqFDCE S_ a)2 C Co -0 a 0 oEs- 2 -6 C) .9 C )co~l112 ~ > Q C -C aN 22 .2 V)3C c a)d N~ E)O( jn c- 002 'o C) 3 3 mm 5w 29M~ .CO 2 c m Co4- 0)0 22 C) a) (D QC C R ==; "-~~ c)C\J~ E -Or- Ca)mo 5 C0 0%5 C~t2 ~ E 0 w C\!C C o- m a) C E c Ln ) 0E 4 - (C 6 Et r C O E2 C 2 0 Q) a)- C mH0mm cu OH (9 It im LL o 0oCW( - / a) C~ CFc-c) a) 02 tO)E a) Co -) C) C 0 0) ) 02 a) 0 C) V; :E -E - 2 -S2 as) ) C Z)~ CL ,Coon c ~C) CC1 Cd 0 0c C)C)( Co 0 'E2 C C lC -0 0 4E >C CCCLj~ 4 ~ oZr3ja (1 Z) Z

,

) C C 5 2E C: ZE)Oa C3C)- a) 0c' E C.w 0 doG 0 CCU0 L w 0 4 o- a20 a)C~- )0 C CC~ 5C C > ~ ~ - C) U) C) 0 C ) j 0 C = .V 2 O C e 0( 0 I- .) C CC 0 (C C C) ay 0 CC 0CC - CC -- 0t0 c/) 20 a)C F C 0*CC 20 0a 0of 0 CC _0 C\J ) w = C 2 01a CEC Cs C 0 C) 0a C, -0 02 OCC C) 0 - O CCJ -- caf Ca C) 0- (~j2 CC2 CC)) C) C: 022 2~ cu0 0 5- a) a) 0 C ca CCa)13 o 2 Lo 00 F 0 2L (D~ a) ~ LN~ ~ 2E ~ 0 mD 2C)~ - f2 cOO r- .2 T~ C ca > 0aaaC - - C EC-a) )E C- )- CL a 0 C -r C) r/ .- E0 >a) CCV, (D -C 5C t 0) roC)0 (a E OS2 CC C) i - 02a <C )C)C WC) C= 0 E 0 C E) CCE LL 5 CD 0 F= 9(1 5 9 rr C 0)O n' a V 0-5 C) 'FD 'C6 CL D r~ C2) 0 C- C )CO C) a) Q- 2: 2 4-"-"U,0 c-Cp C~ p C 0 < E 22 E ) 022C) d02 0 -F !a -2 2- Cd E c 0 ~ ) 0- o ~ a)(2o C) I 020 CC N aa a) ( 0W C0 aa C 0 0C Ca2) S ~ ~ ~ - 2) 45~ C X 0 0

CCCC

2 2 '-0 zE. E 2 : S C C a c ) C) C~ C r ~ C ~ - C C 0nl CC C 91CC CC Q U) 5.- -=C3a2 D r5 0 a C a)C) _r - CC Co 42 FD F13 ,12a c-_ c 4(51 aC 0 :0 0~ : -r 0) C3~j 2a 8 C 2 2 Cr0 2 U C 0 C) NO C Lo r-2 LV o-EE - CCC) 9"-o C020-NNL 0 ::0- C a)5 (nC T c 0 C < 'ES -3 -0 c: - CL Z)~r 2 to. C (z >C -EJ CC> CC 5 C: -0 0))C 0o (-O-CnO C(a 0 C) C)CC ) C Co 9) aL _ 0CCCC cc 2)_ u2mS2. ~C EC -0 0 m L ? C 0 222- w CL O C J5C S a) 43 0 C/) 0 0 - a) 0

M~

0 _) 0 a)2C~ M 0~ 0 0 a) > (o w ca 0 b c C~. o ) C _0 .P 0- o ~ -2 0 Cl) 0 ( a0C\ C0C1C C:- 0 E -0 0) C: -00 CL 0_ a co)2~ wZaA C 0 0 S a) Cl)) a) 2 C) a) N) C a) _ CO ) CY c/ < ~ 4 0 Cl) 2 C:() _ 2 .Cj( 0 No 0 0O C: - - CE2 00 E .2i (Da FDE '5 L) CL 0 .

Cl) -4Ca 20 .2,5l E 0- Z) O0)0E0 ' 0 ) Q) 00' *0>~ -,Co)Q ' E~ Ca*. Clr C) -2, E 20 C/ 0 CO IL D W >E 0 C )d 0-C co Lo0i 0 - a 0 _0j0~ 0 ~ C o 0 C -a .- ~2. FD~o C)0 aE , L ~ y 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ . 00) ) D-F .I 0 0 0- F 2 N .- 0 E 05 a) E 0 aa Q F= m 0 o -0 caca Z o 2 Co ~-r CaE- C) 0 ) Cj a a o. a) 'o al I a) ' .2 J .2 .2 0 D2 ) 0l a ~ C2 6 5 : r 0 0 0 > Ja IL2 f 00 2 5 V) L5 0 2 0) z 2 0 ~ a -Ji-Ja)C-0 _j _ 0 a 2~~~c a))N0 cF W, co C) ji m~ 0 0D a) ) .9 - t-- ~-~ E ~c 0 a 000 a) -- 2 - 0 -0d ooa 2 0)~, OF= 6 cw 0- o-E 0- . :- Q-).9a)D 0) .1 _0 - 0 . -0 FDC . Cl~a) C: E CoZ0> 0 - 0-l .2-8 'F5 2 2 m -r "t 2flo22~~CL Z22~a0~~ 0 _04DD a) T- Q ELW HO c- Co m (D cco C: C a:44 [0062] The therapeutic proteins provided herein should not be considered to be exclusive. Rather, as is apparent from the disclosure provided herein, the methods of the invention are applicable to any protein wherein attachment of a water soluble polymer is desired according to the invention. For example, therapeutic proteins are described in US 2007/0026485, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Blood coagulation proteins [0063] In one aspect, the starting material of the present invention is a blood coagulation protein, which can be derived from human plasma, or produced by recombinant engineering techniques, as described in patents US Patent No. 4,757,006; US Patent No. 5,733,873; US Patent No. 5,198,349; US Patent No. 5,250,421; US Patent No. 5,919,766; and EP 306 968. [0064] Therapeutic polypeptides such as blood coagulation proteins including Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XI (FXI), Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, tPA, PAI-I, tissue factor (TF) and ADAMTS 13 protease are rapidly degraded by proteolytic enzymes and neutralized by antibodies. This reduces their half-life and circulation time, thereby limiting their therapeutic effectiveness. Relatively high doses and frequent administration are necessary to reach and sustain the desired therapeutic or prophylactic effect of these coagulation proteins. As a consequence, adequate dose regulation is difficult to obtain and the need of frequent intravenous administrations imposes restrictions on the patient's way of living. [0065] As described herein, blood coagulation proteins including, but not limited to, Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XI, Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, tPA, PAI-I, tissue factor (TF) and ADAMTS 13 protease are contemplated by the invention. As used herein, the term "blood coagulation protein" refers to any Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, tPA, PAI-1, tissue factor (TF) and ADAMTS 13 protease which exhibits biological activity that is associated with that particular native blood coagulation protein. - 45 - [0066] The blood coagulation cascade is divided into three distinct segments: the intrinsic, extrinsic, and common pathways (Schenone et al., Curr Opin Hematol. 2004; 11:272-7). The cascade involves a series of serine protease enzymes (zymogens) and protein cofactors. When required, an inactive zymogen precursor is converted into the active form, which consequently converts the next enzyme in the cascade. [0067] The intrinsic pathway requires the clotting factors VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII. Initiation of the intrinsic pathway occurs when prekallikrein, high-molecular-weight kininogen, factor XI (FXI) and factor XII (FXII) are exposed to a negatively charged surface. Also required are calcium ions and phospholipids secreted from platelets. [0068] The extrinsic pathway is initiated when the vascular lumen of blood vessels is damaged. The membrane glycoprotein tissue factor is exposed and then binds to circulating factor VII (FVII) and to small preexisting amounts of its activated form FVIIa. This binding facilitates full conversion of FVII to FVIIa and subsequently, in the presence of calcium and phospholipids, the conversion of factor IX (FIX) to factor IXa (FIXa) and factor X (FX) to factor Xa (FXa). The association of FVIIa with tissue factor enhances the proteolytic activity by bringing the binding sites of FVII for the substrate (FIX and FX) into closer proximity and by inducing a conformational change, which enhances the enzymatic activity of FVIIa. [0069] The activation of FX is the common point of the two pathways. Along with phospholipid and calcium, factors Va (FVa) and Xa convert prothrombin to thrombin (prothrombinase complex), which then cleaves fibrinogen to form fibrin monomers. The monomers polymerize to form fibrin strands. Factor XIIIa (FXIIIa) covalently bonds these strands to one another to form a rigid mesh. [0070] Conversion of FVII to FVIIa is also catalyzed by a number of proteases, including thrombin, FIXa, FXa, factor XIa (FXIa), and factor XIIa (FXIIa). For inhibition of the early phase of the cascade, tissue factor pathway inhibitor targets FVIIa/tissue factor/FXa product complex. Factor VIIa [0071] FVII (also known as stable factor or proconvertin) is a vitamin K-dependent serine protease glycoprotein with a pivotal role in hemostasis and coagulation (Eigenbrot, Curr Protein Pept Sci. 2002;3:287-99). - 46 - [0072] FVII is synthesized in the liver and secreted as a single-chain glycoprotein of 48 kD. FVII shares with all vitamin K-dependent serine protease glycoproteins a similar protein domain structure consisting of an amino-terminal gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) domain with 9-12 residues responsible for the interaction of the protein with lipid membranes, a carboxy-terminal serine protease domain (catalytic domain), and two epidermal growth factor-like domains containing a calcium ion binding site that mediates interaction with tissue factor. Gamma-glutamyl carboxylase catalyzes carboxylation of Gla residues in the amino-terminal portion of the molecule. The carboxylase is dependent on a reduced form of vitamin K for its action, which is oxidized to the epoxide form. Vitamin K epoxide reductase is required to convert the epoxide form of vitamin K back to the reduced form. [0073] The major proportion of FVII circulates in plasma in zymogen form, and activation of this form results in cleavage of the peptide bond between arginine 152 and isoleucine 153. The resulting activated FVJIa consists of a NH2-derived light chain (20 kD) and a COOH terminal-derived heavy chain (30 kD) linked via a single disulfide bond (Cys 135 to Cys 262). The light chain contains the membrane-binding Gla domain, while the heavy chain contains the catalytic domain. [0074] The plasma concentration of FVII determined by genetic and environmental factors is about 0.5 mg/mL (Pinotti et al., Blood. 2000;95:3423-8). Different FVII genotypes can result in several-fold differences in mean FVII levels. Plasma FVII levels are elevated during pregnancy in healthy females and also increase with age and are higher in females and in persons with hypertriglyceridemia. FVII has the shortest half-life of all procoagulant factors (3-6 h). The mean plasma concentration of FVJIa is 3.6 ng/mL in healthy individuals and the circulating half-life of FVIla is relatively long (2.5 h) compared with other coagulation factors. [0075] Hereditary FVII deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive bleeding disorder with a prevalence estimated to be 1 case per 500,000 persons in the general population (Acharya et al., J Thromb Haemost. 2004;2248-56). Acquired FVII deficiency from inhibitors is also very rare. Cases have also been reported with the deficiency occurring in association with drugs such as cephalosporins, penicillins, and oral anticoagulants. Furthermore, acquired FVII deficiency has been reported to occur spontaneously or with other conditions, such as myeloma, sepsis, aplastic anemia, with interleukin-2 and antithymocyte globulin therapy. - 47 - [0076] Reference polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences include, e.g., GenBank Accession Nos. J02933 for the genomic sequence, M13232 for the cDNA (Hagen et al. PNAS 1986; 83: 2412-6), and P08709 for the polypeptide sequence (references incorporated herein in their entireties). A variety of polymorphisms of FVII have been described, for example see Sabater-Lleal et al. (Hum Genet. 2006; 118:741-51) (reference incorporated herein in its entirety). Factor IX [0077] FIX is a vitamin K-dependent plasma protein that participates in the intrinsic pathway of blood coagulation by converting FX to its active form in the presence of calcium ions, phospholipids and FVIIIa. The predominant catalytic capability of FIX is as a seine protease with specificity for a particular arginine-isoleucine bond within FX. Activation of FIX occurs by FXIa which causes excision of the activation peptide from FIX to produce an activated FIX molecule comprising two chains held by one or more disulphide bonds. Defects in FIX are the cause of recessive X-linked hemophilia B. [0078] Hemophilia A and B are inherited diseases characterized by deficiencies in FVIII and FIX polypeptides, respectively. The underlying cause of the deficiencies is frequently the result of mutations in FVIII and FIX genes, both of which are located on the X chromosome. Traditional therapy for hemophilias often involves intravenous administration of pooled plasma or semi-purified coagulation proteins from normal individuals. These preparations can be contaminated by pathogenic agents or viruses, such as infectious prions, HIV, parvovirus, hepatitis A, and hepatitis C. Hence, there is an urgent need for therapeutic agents that do not require the use of human serum. [0079] The level of the decrease in FIX activity is directly proportional to the severity of hemophilia B. The current treatment of hemophilia B consists of the replacement of the missing protein by plasma-derived or recombinant FIX (so-called FIX substitution or replacement treatment or therapy). [0080] Polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences of FIX can be found for example in the UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot Accession No. P00740, US Pat. No. 6,531,298 and in Figure 1 (SEQ ID NO: 1). - 48 - Factor VIII [0081] Coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) circulates in plasma at a very low concentration and is bound non-covalently to Von Willebrand factor (VWF). During hemostasis, FVIII is separated from VWF and acts as a cofactor for activated factor IX (FIXa)-mediated FX activation by enhancing the rate of activation in the presence of calcium and phospholipids or cellular membranes. [0082] FVIII is synthesized as a single-chain precursor of approximately 270-330 kD with the domain structure Al-A2-B-A3-C1-C2. When purified from plasma (e.g., "plasma derived" or "plasmatic"), FVIII is composed of a heavy chain (Al-A2-B) and a light chain (A3-C1-C2). The molecular mass of the light chain is 80 kD whereas, due to proteolysis within the B domain, the heavy chain is in the range of 90-220 kD. [0083] FVIII is also synthesized as a recombinant protein for therapeutic use in bleeding disorders. Various in vitro assays have been devised to determine the potential efficacy of recombinant FVIII (rFVIII) as a therapeutic medicine. These assays mimic the in vivo effects of endogenous FVIII. In vitro thrombin treatment of FVIII results in a rapid increase and subsequent decrease in its procoagulant activity, as measured by in vitro assays. This activation and inactivation coincides with specific limited proteolysis both in the heavy and the light chains, which alter the availability of different binding epitopes in FVIII, e.g. allowing FVIII to dissociate from VWF and bind to a phospholipid surface or altering the binding ability to certain monoclonal antibodies. [0084] The lack or dysfunction of FVIII is associated with the most frequent bleeding disorder, hemophilia A. The treatment of choice for the management of hemophilia A is replacement therapy with plasma derived or rFVIII concentrates. Patients with severe hemophilia A with FVIII levels below 1 %, are generally on prophylactic therapy with the aim of keeping FVIII above 1% between doses. Taking into account the average half-lives of the various FVIII products in the circulation, this result can usually be achieved by giving FVIII two to three times a week. [0085] Reference polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences include, e.g., UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot P00451 (FA8_HUMAN); Gitschier J et al., Characterization of the human Factor VIII gene, Nature, 312(5992): 326-30 (1984); Vehar GH et al., Structure of human Factor VIII, Nature, 312(5992):337-42 (1984); Thompson AR. Structure and Function of the Factor VIII gene and protein, Semin Thromb Hemost, 2003:29;11-29 (2002). - 49 - Von Willebrand Factor [0086] Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a glycoprotein circulating in plasma as a series of multimers ranging in size from about 500 to 20,000 kD. Multimeric forms of VWF are composed of 250 kD polypeptide subunits linked together by disulfide bonds. VWF mediates initial platelet adhesion to the sub-endothelium of the damaged vessel wall. Only the larger multimers exhibit hemostatic activity. It is assumed that endothelial cells secrete large polymeric forms of VWF and those forms of VWF which have a low molecular weight (low molecular weight VWF) arise from proteolytic cleavage. The multimers having large molecular masses are stored in the Weibel-Pallade bodies of endothelial cells and liberated upon stimulation. [0087] VWF is synthesized by endothelial cells and megakaryocytes as prepro-VWF that consists to a large extent of repeated domains. Upon cleavage of the signal peptide, pro VWF dimerizes through disulfide linkages at its C-terminal region. The dimers serve as protomers for multimerization, which is governed by disulfide linkages between the free end termini. The assembly to multimers is followed by the proteolytic removal of the propeptide sequence (Leyte et al., Biochem. J. 274 (1991), 257-261). [0088] The primary translation product predicted from the cloned cDNA of VWF is a 2813-residue precursor polypeptide (prepro-VWF). The prepro-VWF consists of a 22 amino acid signal peptide and a 741 amino acid propeptide, with the mature VWF comprising 2050 amino acids (Ruggeri Z.A., and Ware, J., FASEB J., 308-316 (1993). [0089] Defects in VWF are causal to Von Willebrand disease (VWD), which is characterized by a more or less pronounced bleeding phenotype. VWD type 3 is the most severe form, in which VWF is completely missing, and VWD type 1 relates to a quantitative loss of VWF and its phenotype can be very mild. VWD type 2 relates to qualitative defects of VWF and can be as severe as VWD type 3. VWD type 2 has many sub forms, some being associated with the loss or the decrease of high molecular weight multimers. Von Willebrand disease type 2a (VWD-2A) is characterized by a loss of both intermediate and large multimers. VWD-2B is characterized by a loss of highest-molecular-weight multimers. Other diseases and disorders related to VWF are known in the art. [0090] The polynucleotide and amino acid sequences of prepro-VWF are available at GenBank Accession Nos. NM_000552 and NP_000543, respectively. - 50 - [0091] Other blood coagulation proteins according to the present invention are described in the art, e.g. Mann KG, Thromb Haemost, 1999;82:165-74. A. Polypeptides [0092] In one aspect, the starting material of the present invention is a protein or polypeptide. As described herein, the term therapeutic protein refers to any therapeutic protein molecule which exhibits biological activity that is associated with the therapeutic protein. In one embodiment of the invention, the therapeutic protein molecule is a full-length protein. [0093] Therapeutic protein molecules contemplated include full-length proteins, precursors of full length proteins, biologically active subunits or fragments of full length proteins, as well as biologically active derivatives and variants of any of these forms of therapeutic proteins. Thus, therapeutic protein include those that (1) have an amino acid sequence that has greater than about 60%, about 65%, about 70%, about 75%, about 80%, about 85%, about 90%, about 91%, about 92%, about 93%, about 94%, about 95%, about 96%, about 97%, about 98% or about 99% or greater amino acid sequence identity, over a region of at least about 25, about 50, about 100, about 200, about 300, about 400, or more amino acids, to a polypeptide encoded by a referenced nucleic acid or an amino acid sequence described herein; and/or (2) specifically bind to antibodies, e.g., polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies, generated against an immunogen comprising a referenced amino acid sequence as described herein, an immunogenic fragment thereof, and/or a conservatively modified variant thereof. [0094] According to the present invention, the term "recombinant therapeutic protein" includes any therapeutic protein obtained via recombinant DNA technology. In certain embodiments, the term encompasses proteins as described herein. [0095] As used herein, "endogenous therapeutic protein" includes a therapeutic protein which originates from the mammal intended to receive treatment. The term also includes therapeutic protein transcribed from a transgene or any other foreign DNA present in said mammal. As used herein, "exogenous therapeutic protein " includes a blood coagulation protein which does not originate from the mammal intended to receive treatment. [0096] As used herein, "plasma-derived blood coagulation protein " or "plasmatic" includes all forms of the protein found in blood obtained from a mammal having the property participating in the coagulation pathway. - 51 - [0097] As used herein "biologically active derivative" or "biologically active variant" includes any derivative or variant of a molecule having substantially the same functional and/or biological properties of said molecule, such as binding properties, and/or the same structural basis, such as a peptidic backbone or a basic polymeric unit. [0098] An "analog," such as a "variant" or a "derivative," is a compound substantially similar in structure and having the same biological activity, albeit in certain instances to a differing degree, to a naturally-occurring molecule. For example, a polypeptide variant refers to a polypeptide sharing substantially similar structure and having the same biological activity as a reference polypeptide. Variants or analogs differ in the composition of their amino acid sequences compared to the naturally-occurring polypeptide from which the analog is derived, based on one or more mutations involving (i) deletion of one or more amino acid residues at one or more termini of the polypeptide and/or one or more internal regions of the naturally-occurring polypeptide sequence (e.g., fragments), (ii) insertion or addition of one or more amino acids at one or more termini (typically an "addition" or "fusion") of the polypeptide and/or one or more internal regions (typically an "insertion") of the naturally-occurring polypeptide sequence or (iii) substitution of one or more amino acids for other amino acids in the naturally-occurring polypeptide sequence. By way of example, a "derivative" is a type of analog and refers to a polypeptide sharing the same or substantially similar structure as a reference polypeptide that has been modified, e.g., chemically. [0099] A variant polypeptide is a type of analog polypeptide and includes insertion variants, wherein one or more amino acid residues are added to a therapeutic protein amino acid sequence of the invention. Insertions may be located at either or both termini of the protein, and/or may be positioned within internal regions of the therapeutic protein amino acid sequence. Insertion variants, with additional residues at either or both termini, include for example, fusion proteins and proteins including amino acid tags or other amino acid labels. In one aspect, the blood coagulation protein molecule optionally contains an N terminal Met, especially when the molecule is expressed recombinantly in a bacterial cell such as E. coli. [00100] In deletion variants, one or more amino acid residues in a therapeutic protein polypeptide as described herein are removed. Deletions can be effected at one or both termini of the therapeutic protein polypeptide, and/or with removal of one or more residues within the therapeutic protein amino acid sequence. Deletion variants, therefore, include fragments of a therapeutic protein polypeptide sequence. - 52 - [00101] In substitution variants, one or more amino acid residues of a therapeutic protein polypeptide are removed and replaced with alternative residues. In one aspect, the substitutions are conservative in nature and conservative substitutions of this type are well known in the art. Alternatively, the invention embraces substitutions that are also non conservative. Exemplary conservative substitutions are described in Lehninger, [Biochemistry, 2nd Edition; Worth Publishers, Inc., New York (1975), pp.

7 1-77] and are set out immediately below. CONSERVATIVE SUBSTITUTIONS SIDE CHAIN AMINO ACID CHARACTERISTIC Non-polar (hydrophobic): A. Aliphatic ALIVP B. Aromatic FW C. Sulfur-containing M D. Borderline G Uncharged-polar: A. Hydroxyl S T Y B. Amides NQ C. Sulfhydryl C D. Borderline G Positively charged (basic) K R H Negatively charged (acidic) D E [00102] Alternatively, exemplary conservative substitutions are set out immediately below. - 53 - CONSERVATIVE SUBSTITUTIONS II ORIGINAL RESIDUE EXEMPLARY SUBSTITUTION Ala (A) Val, Leu, Ile Arg (R) Lys, Gln, Asn Asn (N) Gln, His, Lys, Arg Asp (D) Glu Cys (C) Ser Gln (Q) Asn Glu (E) Asp His (H) Asn, Gln, Lys, Arg Ile (I) Leu, Val, Met, Ala, Phe, Leu (L) Ile, Val, Met, Ala, Phe Lys (K) Arg, Gln, Asn Met (M) Leu, Phe, Ile Phe (F) Leu, Val, Ile, Ala Pro (P) Gly Ser (S) Thr Thr (T) Ser Trp (W) Tyr Tyr (Y) Trp, Phe, Thr, Ser Val (V) Ile, Leu, Met, Phe, Ala B. Polynucleotides [00103] Nucleic acids encoding a therapeutic protein of the invention include, for example and without limitation, genes, pre-mRNAs, mRNAs, cDNAs, polymorphic variants, alleles, synthetic and naturally-occurring mutants. [00104] Polynucleotides encoding a therapeutic protein of the invention also include, without limitation, those that (1) specifically hybridize under stringent hybridization conditions to a nucleic acid encoding a referenced amino acid sequence as described herein, and conservatively modified variants thereof; (2) have a nucleic acid sequence that has greater than about 95%, about 96%, about 97%, about 98%, about 99%, or higher nucleotide sequence identity, over a region of at least about 25, about 50, about 100, about 150, about 200, about 250, about 500, about 1000, or more nucleotides (up to the full length sequence of - 54 - 1218 nucleotides of the mature protein), to a reference nucleic acid sequence as described herein. Exemplary "stringent hybridization" conditions include hybridization at 42oC in 50% formamide, 5X SSC, 20 mM Na-P04, pH 6.8; and washing in 1X SSC at 55oC for 30 minutes. It is understood that variation in these exemplary conditions can be made based on the length and GC nucleotide content of the sequences to be hybridized. Formulas standard in the art are appropriate for determining appropriate hybridization conditions. See Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (Second ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1989) §§ 9.47-9.5 1. [00105] A "naturally-occurring" polynucleotide or polypeptide sequence is typically derived from a mammal including, but not limited to, primate, e.g., human; rodent, e.g., rat, mouse, hamster; cow, pig, horse, sheep, or any mammal. The nucleic acids and proteins of the invention can be recombinant molecules (e.g., heterologous and encoding the wild type sequence or a variant thereof, or non-naturally occurring). C. Production of therapeutic proteins [00106] Production of a therapeutic protein includes any method known in the art for (i) the production of recombinant DNA by genetic engineering, (ii) introducing recombinant DNA into prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells by, for example and without limitation, transfection, electroporation or microinjection, (iii) cultivating said transformed cells, (iv) expressing therapeutic protein, e.g. constitutively or upon induction, and (v) isolating said blood coagulation protein, e.g. from the culture medium or by harvesting the transformed cells, in order to obtain purified therapeutic protein. [00107] In other aspects, the therapeutic protein is produced by expression in a suitable prokaryotic or eukaryotic host system characterized by producing a pharmacologically acceptable blood coagulation protein molecule. Examples of eukaryotic cells are mammalian cells, such as CHO, COS, HEK 293, BHK, SK-Hep, and HepG2. [00108] A wide variety of vectors are used for the preparation of the therapeutic protein and are selected from eukaryotic and prokaryotic expression vectors. Examples of vectors for prokaryotic expression include plasmids such as, and without limitation, pRSET, pET, and pBAD, wherein the promoters used in prokaryotic expression vectors include one or more of, and without limitation, lac, trc, trp, recA, or araBAD. Examples of vectors for eukaryotic expression include: (i) for expression in yeast, vectors such as, and without limitation, pAO, pPIC, pYES, or pMET, using promoters such as, and without limitation, AOX1, GAP, - 55 - GALl, or AUGi; (ii) for expression in insect cells, vectors such as and without limitation, pMT, pAc5, pIB, pMIB, or pBAC, using promoters such as and without limitation PH, p10, MT, Ac5, OpIE2, gp64, or polh, and (iii) for expression in mammalian cells, vectors such as and without limitation pSVL, pCMV, pRc/RSV, pcDNA3, or pBPV, and vectors derived from, in one aspect, viral systems such as and without limitation vaccinia virus, adeno associated viruses, herpes viruses, or retroviruses, using promoters such as and without limitation CMV, SV40, EF-l, UbC, RSV, ADV, BPV, and J-actin. D. Administration [00109] In one embodiment a conjugated therapeutic protein of the present invention may be administered by injection, such as intravenous, intramuscular, or intraperitoneal injection. [00110] To administer compositions comprising a conjugated therapeutic protein of the present invention to human or test animals, in one aspect, the compositions comprise one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. The terms "pharmaceutically" or "pharmacologically acceptable" refer to molecular entities and compositions that are stable, inhibit protein degradation such as aggregation and cleavage products, and in addition do not produce allergic, or other adverse reactions when administered using routes well-known in the art, as described below. "Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers" include any and all clinically useful solvents, dispersion media, coatings, antibacterial and antifungal agents, isotonic and absorption delaying agents and the like, including those agents disclosed above. [00111] As used herein, "effective amount" includes a dose suitable for treating a disease or disorder or ameliorating a symptom of a disease or disorder. In one embodiment, "effective amount" includes a dose suitable for treating a mammal having a bleeding disorder as described herein. [00112] The compositions may be administered orally, topically, transdermally, parenterally, by inhalation spray, vaginally, rectally, or by intracranial injection. The term parenteral as used herein includes subcutaneous injections, intravenous, intramuscular, intracisternal injection, or infusion techniques. Administration by intravenous, intradermal, intramuscular, intramammary, intraperitoneal, intrathecal, retrobulbar, intrapulmonary injection and or surgical implantation at a particular site is contemplated as well. Generally, compositions are essentially free of pyrogens, as well as other impurities that could be harmful to the recipient. - 56 - [00113] Single or multiple administrations of the compositions can be carried out with the dose levels and pattern being selected by the treating physician. For the prevention or treatment of disease, the appropriate dosage will depend on the type of disease to be treated, as described above, the severity and course of the disease, whether drug is administered for preventive or therapeutic purposes, previous therapy, the patient's clinical history and response to the drug, and the discretion of the attending physician. [00114] The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of a conjugated therapeutic protein as defined herein. The pharmaceutical composition may further comprise a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent, salt, buffer, or excipient. The pharmaceutical composition can be used for treating the above-defined bleeding disorders. The pharmaceutical composition of the invention may be a solution or a lyophilized product. Solutions of the pharmaceutical composition may be subjected to any suitable lyophilization process. [00115] As an additional aspect, the invention includes kits which comprise a composition of the invention packaged in a manner which facilitates its use for administration to subjects. In one embodiment, such a kit includes a compound or composition described herein (e.g., a composition comprising a conjugated therapeutic protein), packaged in a container such as a sealed bottle or vessel, with a label affixed to the container or included in the package that describes use of the compound or composition in practicing the method. In one embodiment, the kit contains a first container having a composition comprising a conjugated therapeutic protein and a second container having a physiologically acceptable reconstitution solution for the composition in the first container. In one aspect, the compound or composition is packaged in a unit dosage form. The kit may further include a device suitable for administering the composition according to a specific route of administration. Preferably, the kit contains a label that describes use of the therapeutic protein or peptide composition. WATER SOLUBLE POLYMERS [00116] In one aspect, a therapeutic protein derivative (i.e., a conjugated therapeutic protein) molecule provided is bound to a water-soluble polymer including, but not limited to, polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, polysialic acid (PSA), hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG) - 57 polyoxazoline, poly acryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1-hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2'-ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC). In one embodiment of the invention, the water soluble polymer is consisting of sialic acid molecule having a molecular weight range of 350 to 120,000, 500 to 100,000,1000 to 80,000, 1500 to 60,000, 2,000 to 45,000 Da, 3,000 to 35,000 Da, and 5,000 to 25,000 Da. The coupling of the water soluble polymer can be carried out by direct coupling to the protein or via linker molecules. One example of a chemical linker is MBPH (4-[4-N Maleimidophenyl]butyric acid hydrazide) containing a carbohydrate-selective hydrazide and a sulfhydryl-reactive maleimide group (Chamow et al., J Biol Chem 1992;267:15916-22). Other exemplary and preferred linkers are described below. [00117] In one embodiment, the derivative retains the full functional activity of native therapeutic protein products, and provides an extended half-life in vivo, as compared to native therapeutic protein products. In another embodiment, the derivative retains at least 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44. 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56,57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, or 150 percent (%) biological activity relative to native blood coagulation protein. In a related aspect, the biological activities of the derivative and native blood coagulation protein are determined by the ratios of chromogenic activity to blood coagulation factor antigen value (blood coagulation factor:Chr: blood coagulation factor:Ag). In still another embodiment of the invention, the half-life of the construct is decreased or increased 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10-fold relative to the in vivo half-life of native therapeutic protein. A. Sialic acid and PSA [00118] PSAs consist of polymers (generally homopolymers) of N-acetylneuraminic acid. The secondary amino group normally bears an acetyl group, but it may instead bear a glycolyl group. Possible substituents on the hydroxyl groups include acetyl, lactyl, ethyl, sulfate, and phosphate groups. - 58 - HOOH coo AcHN OH HO OH N-Acetyineuraminic acid Neu5Ac [00119] Structure of sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid) [00120] PSAs and mPSAs generally comprise linear polymers consisting essentially of N acetylneuraminic acid moieties linked by 2,8- or 2,9- glycosidic linkages or combinations of these (e.g. alternating 2,8- and 2,9- linkages). In particularly preferred PSAs and mPSAs, the glycosidic linkages are ax-2,8. Such PSAs and mPSAs are conveniently derived from colominic acids, and are referred to herein as "CAs" and "mCAs". Typical PSAs and mPSAs comprise at least 2, preferably at least 5, more preferably at least 10 and most preferably at least 20 N-acetylneuraminic acid moieties. Thus, they may comprise from 2 to 300 N acetylneuraminic acid moieties, preferably from 5 to 200 N-acetylneuraminic acid moieties, or most preferably from 10 to 100 N-acetylneuraminic acid moieties. PSAs and CAs preferably are essentially free of sugar moieties other than N-acetylneuraminic acid. Thus PSAs and CAs preferably comprise at least 90 %, more preferably at least 95 % and most preferably at least 98 % N-acetylneuraminic acid moieties. [00121] Where PSAs and CAs comprise moieties other than N-acetylneuraminic acid (as, for example in mPSAS and mCAs) these are preferably located at one or both of the ends of the polymer chain. Such "other" moieties may, for example, be moieties derived from terminal N-acetylneuraminic acid moieties by oxidation or reduction. [00122] For example, WO-A-0187922 describes such mPSAs and mCAs in which the non reducing terminal N-acetylneuraminic acid unit is converted to an aldehyde group by reaction with sodium periodate. Additionally, WO 2005/016974 describes such mPSAs and mCAs in which the reducing terminal N-acetylneuraminic acid unit is subjected to reduction to reductively open the ring at the reducing terminal N-acetylneuraminic acid unit, whereby a vicinal diol group is formed, followed by oxidation to convert the vicinal diol group to an aldehyde group. - 59 - [00123] Sialic acid rich glycoproteins bind selectin in humans and other organisms. They play an important role in human influenza infections. E.g., sialic acid can hide mannose antigens on the surface of host cells or bacteria from mannose-binding lectin. This prevents activation of complement. Sialic acids also hide the penultimate galactose residue thus preventing rapid clearance of the glycoprotein by the galactose receptor on the hepatic parenchymal cells. M ACHN A [00124] Structure of colominic acid (homopolymer of N-acetylneuraminic acid) [00125] Colominic acids (a sub-class of PSAs) are homopolymers of N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) with a (2->8) ketosidic linkage, and are produced, inter alia, by particular strains of Escherichia coli possessing KI antigen. Colominic acids have many physiological functions. They are important as a raw material for drugs and cosmetics. [00126] Comparative studies in vivo with polysialylated and unmodified asparaginase revealed that polysialylation increased the half-life of the enzyme (Fernandes and Gregoriadis, Biochimica Biophysica Acta 1341: 26-34, 1997). [00127] As used herein, "sialic acid moieties" includes sialic acid monomers or polymers ("polysaccharides") which are soluble in an aqueous solution or suspension and have little or no negative impact, such as side effects, to mammals upon administration of the PSA-blood coagulation protein conjugate in a pharmaceutically effective amount. The polymers are characterized, in one aspect, as having 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500 sialic acid units. In certain aspects, different sialic acid units are combined in a chain. - 60 - [00128] In one embodiment of the invention, the sialic acid portion of the polysaccharide compound is highly hydrophilic, and in another embodiment the entire compound is highly hydrophilic. Hydrophilicity is conferred primarily by the pendant carboxyl groups of the sialic acid units, as well as the hydroxyl groups. The saccharide unit may contain other functional groups, such as, amine, hydroxyl or sulphate groups, or combinations thereof. These groups may be present on naturally-occurring saccharide compounds, or introduced into derivative polysaccharide compounds. [00129] The naturally occurring polymer PSA is available as a polydisperse preparation showing a broad size distribution (e.g. Sigma C-5762) and high polydispersity (PD). Because the polysaccharides are usually produced in bacteria carrying the inherent risk of copurifying endotoxins, the purification of long sialic acid polymer chains may raise the probability of increased endotoxin content. Short PSA molecules with 1-4 sialic acid units can also be synthetically prepared (Kang SH et al., Chem Commun. 2000;227-8; Ress DK and Linhardt RJ, Current Organic Synthesis. 2004;1:31-46), thus minimizing the risk of high endotoxin levels. However PSA preparations with a narrow size distribution and low polydispersity, which are also endotoxin-free, can now be manufactured. Polysaccharide compounds of particular use for the invention are, in one aspect, those produced by bacteria. Some of these naturally-occurring polysaccharides are known as glycolipids. In one embodiment, the polysaccharide compounds are substantially free of terminal galactose units. B. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Pegylation [00130] In certain aspects, therapeutic proteins are conjugated to a water soluble polymer by any of a variety of chemical methods (Roberts JM et al., Advan Drug Delivery Rev 2002;54:459-76). For example, in one embodiment a therapeutic protein is modified by the conjugation of PEG to free amino groups of the protein using N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) esters. In another embodiment the water soluble polymer, for example PEG, is coupled to free SH groups using maleimide chemistry or the coupling of PEG hydrazides or PEG amines to carbohydrate moieties of the therapeutic protein after prior oxidation. [00131] The conjugation is in one aspect performed by direct coupling (or coupling via linker systems) of the water soluble polymer to a therapeutic protein under formation of stable bonds. In addition degradable, releasable or hydrolysable linker systems are used in certain aspects the present invention (Tsubery et al. J Biol Chem 2004;279:38118-24 / - 61 - Greenwald et al., J Med Chem 1999;42:3657-67 / Zhao et al., Bioconj Chem 2006;17:341-51 / W02006/138572A2 / US7259224B2 / US7060259B2). [00132] In one embodiment of the invention, a therapeutic protein is modified via lysine residues by use of polyethylene glycol derivatives containing an active N hydroxysuccinimide ester (NHS) such as succinimidyl succinate, succinimidyl glutarate or succinimidyl propionate. These derivatives react with the lysine residues of the therapeutic protein under mild conditions by forming a stable amide bond. In one embodiment of the invention, the chain length of the PEG derivative is 5,000 Da. Other PEG derivatives with chain lengths of 500 to 2,000 Da, 2,000 to 5,000 Da, greater than 5,000 up to 10,000 Da or greater than 10,000 up to 20,000 Da, or greater than 20,000 up to 150,000 Da are used in various embodiments, including linear and branched structures. [00133] Alternative methods for the PEGylation of amino groups are, without limitation, the chemical conjugation with PEG carbonates by forming urethane bonds, or the reaction with aldehydes or ketones by reductive amination forming secondary amide bonds. [00134] In one embodiment of the present invention a therapeutic protein molecule is chemically modified using PEG derivatives that are commercially available. These PEG derivatives in alternative aspects have linear or branched structures. Examples of PEG derivatives containing NHS groups are listed below. [00135] The following PEG derivatives are non-limiting examples of those commercially available from Nektar Therapeutics (Huntsville, Ala.; see www.nektar.com/PEG reagent catalog; Nektar Advanced PEGylation, price list 2005-2006): mPEG-Succinimidyl propionate (mPEG-SPA) 0 0 mPEG-CH 2

CH

2 -C-0-N 0 - 62 mPEG-Succinimidyl a-methylbutanoate (mPEG-SMB) 0 0 || II mnPEG-CH 2

CH

2 CH-C-O-N

CH

3 0 mPEG-CM-HBA-NHS (CM=carboxymethyl; HBA=Hydroxy butyric acid) 0 0 0 || || mPEG-CHC-0-CHCH 2 C-O-N

CH

3 0 Structure of a Branched PEG-derivative (Nektar Therapeutics): Branched PEG N-Hydroxysuccinimide (mPEG2-NHS) 0 mPEG O C-O-N mPEG 0 [00136] This reagent with branched structure is described in more detail by Kozlowski et al. (BioDrugs 2001;5:419-29). [00137] Other non-limiting examples of PEG derivatives are commercially available from NOF Corporation (Tokyo, Japan; see www.nof.co.jp/english: Catalogue 2005) General Structure of Linear PEG-derivatives (NOF Corp.): 0

CH

3 0(CH 2

CH

2 0)--X--N 0 - 63 - X=carboxymethyl 0 0

CH

3 0(CH 2

CH

2 0)-- CH 2 -- C -- 0- N 0 X=carboxypentyl 0 0

CH

3 0(CH 2

CH

2 0)- (CH2) 5 - C-0 - N 0 x=succinate 0 0 0

CH

3 0(CH 2

CH

2 )--C - CH 2

CH

2 - C -0- N mIPEG Succinimidyl succinate x=glutarate 0 0 0

CH

3 0(CH 2

CH

2 0)--C- (CH 2

)

3 -C-0-N mPEG Suecinimidyl glutarate Structures of Branched PEG-derivatives (NOF Corp.): 2,3 Bis(methylpolyoxyethylene-oxy)-1-(1,5-dioxo-5-succinimidyloxy, pentyloxy)propane

H

3

C-(OCH

2

-CH

2 )n-O-CH 2 O

H

3

C-(OCH

2

-CH

2 )n-O-CH 0 0 CH2-0 -C-CH2CH2CH2-C-0 -N> 0 - 64 - 2,3-Bis(methylpolyoxyethylene-oxy)- 1-(succinimidyl carboxypentyloxy)propane

H

3 C -- (OCH--CH2)--O- H2IO I- 0

H

3

C--(OCH

2

-CH

2 )n----CH 0

CH

2 -0- CH 2

CH

2

CH

2

CHCH

2 --C-0-N 0 [00138] These propane derivatives show a glycerol backbone with a 1,2 substitution pattern. In the present invention branched PEG derivatives based on glycerol structures with 1,3 substitution or other branched structures described in US2003/0143596A1 are also contemplated. [00139] PEG derivatives with degradable (for example, hydrolysable) linkers as described by Tsubery et al. (J Biol Chem 2004;279:38118-24) and Shechter et al. (WO04089280A3) are also contemplated. [00140] Surprisingly, the PEGylated therapeutic protein of this invention exhibits functional activity, combined with an extended half-life in vivo. In addition the PEGylated rFVIII, FVIIa, FIX, or other blood coagulation factor seems to be more resistant against thrombin inactivation. C. Hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS) and hydroxylethyl starch (HES) [00141] In various embodiments of the present invention, a therapeutic protein molecule is chemically modified using hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS) or hydroxylethyl starch (HES) or derivatives thereof. [00142] HES is a derivative of naturally occurring amylopectin and is degraded by alpha amylase in the body. HES is a substituted derivative of the carbo- hydrate polymer amylopectin, which is present in corn starch at a concentration of up to 95 % by weight. HES exhibits advantageous biological properties and is used as a blood volume replacement agent and in hemodilution therapy in the clinics (Sommermeyer et al., 1987, Krankenhauspharmazie, 8 (8), 271-278; and Weidler et al., 1991, Arzneim.-Forschung/Drug Res. g 419 494-498). [00143] Amylopectin consists of glucose moieties, wherein in the main chain alpha-1,4 glycosidic bonds are present and at the branching sites alpha-1, 6-glycosidic bonds are found. The physical-chemical properties of this molecule are mainly determined by the type of - 65 glycosidic bonds. Due to the nicked alpha-1,4-glycosidic bond, helical structures with about six glucose-monomers per turn are produced. The physico- chemical as well as the biochemical properties of the polymer can be modified via substitution. The introduction of a hydroxyethyl group can be achieved via alkaline hydroxyethylation. By adapting the reaction conditions it is possible to exploit the different reactivity of the respective hydroxy group in the unsubstituted glucose monomer with respect to a hydroxyethylation. Owing to this fact, the skilled person is able to influence the substitution pattern to a limited extent. [00144] HAS refers to a starch derivative which has been substituted by at least one hydroxyalkyl group. Therefore, the term hydroxyalkyl starch is not limited to compounds where the terminal carbohydrate moiety comprises hydroxyalkyl groups RI, R2, and/or R3, but also refers to compounds in which at least one hydroxy group present anywhere, either in the terminal carbohydrate moiety and/or in the remaining part of the starch molecule, HAS', is substituted by a hydroxyalkyl group R1, R2, or R3. *11 [00145] The alkyl group may be a linear or branched alkyl group which may be suitably substituted. Preferably, the hydroxyalkyl group contains 1 to 10 carbon atoms, more preferably from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, more preferably from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and even more preferably 2-4 carbon atoms. "Hydroxyalkyl starch" therefore preferably comprises hydroxyethyl starch, hydroxypropyl starch and hydroxybutyl starch, wherein hydroxyethyl starch and hydroxypropyl starch are particularly preferred. [00146] Hydroxyalkyl starch comprising two or more different hydroxyalkyl groups is also comprised in the present invention. The at least one hydroxyalkyl group comprised in HAS may contain two or more hydroxy groups. According to one embodiment, the at least one hydroxyalkyl group comprised HAS contains one hydroxy group. - 66 - [00147] The term HAS also includes derivatives wherein the alkyl group is mono-or polysubstituted. In one embodiment, the alkyl group is substituted with a halogen, especially fluorine, or with an aryl group, provided that the HAS remains soluble in water. Furthermore, the terminal hydroxy group a of hydroxyalkyl group may be esterified or etherified. HAS derivatives are described in WO/2004/024776, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. D. Methods of attachment [00148] A therapeutic protein may be covalently linked to the polysaccharide compounds by any of various techniques known to those of skill in the art. In various aspects of the invention, sialic acid moieties are bound to a therapeutic protein, e.g., FIX, FVIII, FVIa or VWF, for example by the method described in US Patent No. 4,356,170, which is herein incorporated by reference. [00149] Other techniques for coupling PSA to polypeptides are also known and contemplated by the invention. For example, US Publication No. 2007/0282096 describes conjugating an amine or hydrazide derivative of, e.g., PSA, to proteins. In addition, US Publication No. 2007/0191597 describes PSA derivatives containing an aldehyde group for reaction with substrates (e.g., proteins) at the reducing end. These references are incorporated by reference in their entireties. [00150] Various methods are disclosed at column 7, line 15, through column 8, line 5 of U.S. Patent No. 5,846,951 (incorporated by reference in its entirety). Exemplary techniques include linkage through a peptide bond between a carboxyl group on one of either the blood coagulation protein or polysaccharide and an amine group of the blood coagulation protein or polysaccharide, or an ester linkage between a carboxyl group of the blood coagulation protein or polysaccharide and a hydroxyl group of the therapeutic protein or polysaccharide. Another linkage by which the therapeutic protein is covalently bonded to the polysaccharide compound is via a Schiff base, between a free amino group on the blood coagulation protein being reacted with an aldehyde group formed at the non-reducing end of the polysaccharide by periodate oxidation (Jennings HJ and Lugowski C, J Immunol. 198 1;127:1011-8; Fernandes Al and Gregoriadis G, Biochim Biophys Acta. 1997;1341;26-34). The generated Schiff base is in one aspect stabilized by specific reduction with NaCNBH3 to form a secondary amine. An alternative approach is the generation of terminal free amino groups in the PSA by reductive amination with NH4C1 after prior oxidation. Bifunctional reagents can - 67 be used for linking two amino or two hydroxyl groups. For example, PSA containing an amino group is coupled to amino groups of the protein with reagents like BS3 (Bis(sulfosuccinimidyl)suberate / Pierce, Rockford, IL). In addition heterobifunctional cross linking reagents like Sulfo-EMCS (N-r-Maleimidocaproyloxy) sulfosuccinimide ester / Pierce) is used for instance to link amine and thiol groups. [00151] In another approach, a PSA hydrazide is prepared and coupled to the carbohydrate moiety of the protein after prior oxidation and generation of aldehyde functions. [00152] As described above, a free amine group of the therapeutic protein reacts with the 1-carboxyl group of the sialic acid residue to form a peptidyl bond or an ester linkage is formed between the 1-carboxylic acid group and a hydroxyl or other suitable active group on a blood coagulation protein. Alternatively, a carboxyl group forms a peptide linkage with deacetylated 5-amino group, or an aldehyde group of a molecule of a therapeutic protein forms a Schiff base with the N-deacetylated 5-amino group of a sialic acid residue. [00153] Alternatively, the polysaccharide compound is associated in a non-covalent manner with a therapeutic protein. For example, the polysaccharide compound and the pharmaceutically active compound are in one aspect linked via hydrophobic interactions. Other non-covalent associations include electrostatic interactions, with oppositely charged ions attracting each other. [00154] In various embodiments, the therapeutic protein is linked to or associated with the polysaccharide compound in stoichiometric amounts (e.g., 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 1:7, 1:7, 1:8, 1:9, or 1:10, etc.). In various embodiments, 1-6, 7-12 or 13-20 polysaccharides are linked to the blood coagulation protein. In still other embodiments, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 or more polysaccharides are linked to the blood coagulation protein. [00155] In various embodiments, the therapeutic protein is modified to introduce glycosylation sites (i.e., sites other than the native glycosylation sites). Such modification may be accomplished using standard molecular biological techniques known in the art. Moreover, the therapeutic protein, prior to conjugation to a water soluble polymer via one or more carbohydrate moieties, may be glycosylated in vivo or in vitro. These glycosylated sites can serve as targets for conjugation of the proteins with water soluble polymers (US Patent Application No. 20090028822, US Patent Application No. 2009/0093399, US Patent Application No. 2009/0081188, US Patent Application No. 2007/0254836, US Patent - 68 - Application No. 2006/0111279, and DeFrees S. et al., Glycobiology, 2006, 16, 9, 833-43). For example, a protein that is not naturally glycoslyated in vivo (e.g., a protein that is not a glycoprotein) may be modified as described above. E. Aminooxy linkage [00156] In one embodiment of the invention, the reaction of hydroxylamine or hydroxylamine derivatives with aldehydes (e.g., on a carbohydrate moiety following oxidation by sodium periodate) to form an oxime group is applied to the preparation of conjugates of blood coagulation protein. For example, a glycoprotein (e.g., a therapeutic protein according to the present invention) is first oxidized with a oxidizing agent such as sodium periodate (NaIO4) (Rothfus JA et Smith EL., J Biol Chem 1963, 238, 1402-10; and Van Lenten L and Ashwell G., J Biol Chem 1971, 246, 1889-94). The periodate oxidation of glycoproteins is based on the classical Malaprade reaction described in 1928, the oxidation of vicinal diols with periodate to form an active aldehyde group (Malaprade L., Analytical application, Bull Soc Chim France, 1928, 43, 683-96). Additional examples for such an oxidizing agent are lead tetraacetate ( Pb(OAc)4 ), manganese acetate ( MnO(Ac)3 ), cobalt acetate (Co(OAc)2 ), thallium acetate (TlOAc), cerium sulfate ( Ce(S04)2 ) (US 4,367,309) or potassium perruthenate ( KRuO4 ) (Marko et al., J Am Chem Soc 1997,119, 12661-2). By "oxidizing agent" a mild oxidizing compound which is capable of oxidizing vicinal diols in carbohydrates, thereby generating active aldehyde groups under physiological reaction conditions is meant. [00157] The second step is the coupling of the polymer containing an aminooxy group to the oxidized carbohydrate moiety to form an oxime linkage. In one embodiment of the invention, this step can be carried out in the presence of catalytic amounts of the nucleophilic catalyst aniline or aniline derivatives (Dirksen A et Dawson PE, Bioconjugate Chem. 2008; Zeng Y et al., Nature Methods 2009;6:207-9). The aniline catalysis dramatically accelerates the oxime ligation allowing the use of very low concentrations of the reagents. In another embodiment of the invention the oxime linkage is stabilized by reduction with NaCNBH3 to form an alkoxyamine linkage (Figure 2). Additional catalysts are described below. [00158] Additional information on aminooxy technology can be found in the following references, each of which is incorporated in their entireties: EP 1681303A1 (HASylated erythropoietin); WO 2005/014024 (conjugates of a polymer and a protein linked by an oxime linking group); W096/40662 (aminooxy-containing linker compounds and their application - 69 in conjugates); WO 2008/025856 (Modified proteins); Peri F et al., Tetrahedron 1998, 54, 12269-78; Kubler-Kielb J et. Pozsgay V., J Org Chem 2005, 70, 6887-90; Lees A et al., Vaccine 2006, 24(6), 716-29; and Heredia KL et al., Macromoecules 2007, 40(14), 4772-9. [00159] In various embodiments of the invention, the water soluble polymer which is linked according to the aminooxy technology described herein to an oxidized carbohydrate moiety of a therapeutic protein (e.g., FVIII, FVIIa, or FIX) include, but are not limited to polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, polysialic acid (PSA), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG) polyoxazoline, poly acryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC). NUCLEOPHILIC CATALYSTS [00160] As decribed herein, the conjugation of water soluble polymers to therapeutic proteins can be catalyzed by aniline. Aniline strongly catalyzes aqueous reactions of aldehydes and ketones with amines to form stable imines such as hydrazones and oximes. The following diagram compares an uncatalyzed versus the aniline-catalyzed oxime ligation reaction (Kohler JJ, ChemBioChem 2009;10:2147-50): - 70 - 0 H R H., R H HH H R [00161] However, considering the numerous health risks associated with aniline, alternative catalysts are desirable. The present invention provides aniline derivatives as alternative oxime ligation catalysts. Such aniline derivatives include, but are not limited to, o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p anisidine. [00162] In one embodiment of the invention, m-toluidine (aka meta-toluidine, m methylaniline, 3-methylaniline, or 3 -amino-1I-methylbenzene) is used to catalyze the conjugation reactions described herein. M-toluidine and aniline have similar physical properties and essentially the same pKa value (m-toluidine: pKa 4.73, aniline: pKa 4.63). - 71 - [00163] The nucleophilic catalysts of the invention are useful for oxime ligation (e.g, using aminooxy linkage) or hydrazone formation (e.g., using hydrazide chemistry). In various embodiments of the invention, the nucleophilic catalyst is provided in the conjugation reaction at a concentration of of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.0, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, or 50 mM. In one embodiment, the nucleophilic catalyst is provided between 1 to 10 mM. In various embodiments of the invention, the pH range of conjugation reaction is 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0 and 7.5. In one embodiment, the pH is between 5.5 to 6.5. PURIFICATION OF CONJUGATED PROTEINS [00164] In various embodiments, purification of a protein that has been incubated with an oxidizing agent and/or a therapeutic protein that has been conjugated with a water soluble polymer according to the present disclosure, is desired. Numerous purification techniques are known in the art and include, without limitation, chromatographic methods such as ion exchange chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, size exclusion chromatography and affinity chromatography or combinations thereof, filtration methods, and precipitation methods (Guide to Protein Purification, Meth. Enzymology Vol 463 (edited by Burgess RR and Deutscher MP), 2 edition, Academic Press 2009).. [00165] The following examples are not intended to be limiting but only exemplary of specific embodiments of the invention. EXAMPLES Example 1 Preparation of the homobifunctional linker NH 2

[OCH

2

CH

2 1 2

ONH

2 [00166] The homobifunctional linker NH 2

[OCH

2

CH

2

]

2

ONH

2 H2N O NH 2 [00167] (3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine) containing two active aminooxy groups was synthesized according to Boturyn et al. (Tetrahedron 1997;53:5485-92) in a two step organic reaction employing a modified Gabriel-Synthesis of primary amines (Figure 3). In the first step, one molecule of 2,2-chlorodiethylether was reacted with two molecules of Endo-N - 72 hydroxy-5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboximide in dimethylformamide (DMF). The desired homobifunctional product was prepared from the resulting intermediate by hydrazinolysis in ethanol. Example 2 Preparation of the homobifunctional linker NH 2

[OCH

2

CH

2 i 4

ONH

2 [00168] The homobifunctional linker NH2[OCH 2

CH

2

]

4 0NH 2

H

2 N,_ 0 [00169] (3,6,9-trioxa-undecane-1,11-dioxyamine) containing two active aminooxy groups was synthesized according to Boturyn et al. (Tetrahedron 1997;53:5485-92) in a two step organic reaction employing a modified Gabriel-Synthesis of primary amines (Figure 3). In the first step one molecule of Bis-(2-(2-chlorethoxy)-ethyl)-ether was reacted with two molecules of Endo-N-hydroxy-5-norbomene-2,3-dicarboximide in DMF. The desired homobifunctional product was prepared from the resulting intermediate by hydrazinolysis in ethanol. Example 3 Preparation of the homobifunctional linker NH 2

[OCH

2

CH

2 1 6

ONH

2 [00170] The homobifunctional linker NH 2

[OCH

2

CH

2

]

6

ONH

2 H 2N O O O -- 0- 0- -'' 0--N H2 [00171] (3,6,9,12,15-penatoxa-heptadecane-1,17-dioxyamine) containing two active aminooxy groups was synthesized according to Boturyn et al. (Tetrahedron 1997;53:5485-92) in a two step organic reaction employing a modified Gabriel-Synthesis of primary amines. In the first step one molecule of hexaethylene glycol dichloride was reacted with two molecules of Endo-N-hydroxy-5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboximide in DMF. The desired homobifunctional product was prepared from the resulting intermediate by hydrazinolysis in ethanol. - 73 - Example 4 Detailed synthesis of the aminooxy-PSA reagent [00172] 3-oxa-pentane-1,5 dioxyamine was synthesized according to Botyryn et al (Tetrahedron 1997; 53:5485-92) in a two step organic synthesis as outlined in Example 1. Step 1: [00173] To a solution of Endo-N-hydroxy-5-norbonene-2,3- dicarboxiimide (59.0 g; 1.00 eq) in 700 ml anhydrous N,N-dimetylformamide anhydrous K 2

CO

3 (45.51 g; 1.00 eq) and 2,2-dichlorodiethylether (15.84 ml; 0.41 eq) were added. The reaction mixture was stirred for 22 h at 50C. The mixture was evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue was suspended in 2 L dichloromethane and extracted two times with saturated aqueous NaCl-solution (each 1 L). The Dichloromethane layer was dried over Na 2

SO

4 and then evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure and dried in high vacuum to give 64.5 g of 3-oxapentane-1,5-dioxy-endo-2',3'-dicarboxydiimidenorbornene as a white-yellow solid (intermediate 1). Step2: [00174] To a solution of intermediate 1 (64.25 g; 1.00 eq) in 800 ml anhydrous Ethanol, 31.0 ml Hydrazine hydrate (4.26 eq) were added. The reaction mixture was then refluxed for 2 hrs. The mixture was concentrated to the half of the starting volume by evaporating the solvent under reduced pressure. The occurring precipitate was filtered off. The remaining ethanol layer was evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue containing the crude product 3-oxa-pentane -1,5-dioxyamine was dried in vacuum to yield 46.3 g. The crude product was further purified by column chromatography (Silicagel 60; isocratic elution with Dichloromethane/Methanol mixture, 9/1) to yield 11.7 g of the pure final product 3-oxa pentane -1,5-dioxyamine. Example 5 Preparation of aminooxy-PSA [00175] 1000 mg of oxidized PSA (MW = 20 kD) obtained from the Serum Institute of India (Pune, India) was dissolved in 16 ml 50 mM phospate buffer pH 6.0. Then 170 mg 3 oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine was given to the reaction mixture. After shaking for 2 hrs at RT 78.5 mg sodium cyanoborohydride was added and the reaction was performed for 18 hours over night. The reaction mixture was then subjected to a ultrafiltration/diafiltration procedure - 74 - (UF/DF) using a membrane with a 5 kD cut-off made of regenerated cellulose (50 cm 2 Millipore). Example 6 Preparation of aminooxy-PSA employing a chromatographic purification step [00176] 1290 mg of oxidized PSA (MW = 20 kD) obtained from the Serum Institute of India (Pune, India) was dissolved in 25 ml 50 mM phosphate buffer pH 6.0 (Bufffer A). Then 209 mg 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine was given to the reaction mixture. After shaking for 1 h at RT 101 mg sodium cyanoborohydride was added and the reaction was performed for 3 hours. Then the mixture was then subjected to a weak anion exchange chromatography step employing a Fractogel EMD DEAE 650-M chromatography gel (column dimension: XK26/135). The reaction mixture was diluted with 110 ml Buffer A and loaded onto the DEAE column pre-equilibrated with Buffer A at a flow rate of 1 cm/min. Then the column was washed with 20 CV Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, pH 6.0) to remove free 3 oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine and cyanide at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. The aminooxy-PSA reagent was then eluted with a step gradient consisting of 67% Buffer B and 43% Buffer C (20 mM Hepes, IM NaCl, pH 7.5). The eluate was concentrated by UF/DF using a 5 kD 2 membrane made of polyether sulfone (50 cm , Millipore). The final diafiltration step was performed against Buffer D (20mM Hepes, 90mM NaCl, pH 7.4). The preparation was analytically characterized by measuring total PSA (Resorcinol assay) and total aminooxy groups (TNBS assay) to determine the degree of modification. Furthermore the polydispersity as well as free 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine and cyanide was determined. Example 7 Preparation of aminooxy-PSA without a reduction step [00177] 573 mg of oxidized PSA (MW = 20 kD) obtained from the Serum Institute of India (Pune, India) was dissolved in 11,3 ml 50mM phosphate buffer pH 6.0 (Bufffer A). Then 94 mg 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine was given to the reaction mixture. After shaking for 5 h at RT the mixture was then subjected to a weak anion exchange chromatography step employing a Fractogel EMD DEAE 650-M chromatography gel (column dimension: XK16/105). The reaction mixture was diluted with 50 ml Buffer A and loaded onto the DEAE column pre-equilibrated with Buffer A at a flow rate of 1 cm/min. Then the column was washed with 20 CV Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, pH 6.0) to remove free 3-oxa-pentane-1,5 dioxyamine and cyanide at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. The aminooxy-PSA reagent was the - 75 eluted with a step gradient consisting of 67 % Buffer B and 43 % Buffer C (20 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.5). The eluate was concentrated by UF/DF using a 5 kD membrane made of polyether sulfone (50 cm 2 , Millipore). The final diafiltration step was performed against Buffer D (20 mM Hepes, 90 mM NaCl, pH 7.4). The preparation was analytically characterized by measuring total PSA (Resorcinol assay) and total aminooxy groups (TNBS assay) to determine the degree of modification. Furthermore the polydispersity as well as free 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine was determined. Example 8 Preparation of aminooxy-PSA without a reduction step in the presence of the nucleophilic catalyst m-toluidine [00178] 573 mg of oxidized PSA (MW = 20 kD) obtained from the Serum Institute of India (Pune, India) is dissolved in 9 ml 50 mM phosphate buffer pH 6.0 (Bufffer A). Then 94 mg 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine is given to this solution. Subsequently 2.3 ml of a 50 mM m-toluidine stock solution are added to this reaction mixture. After shaking for 2 h at RT the mixture is then subjected to a weak anion exchange chromatography step employing a Fractogel EMD DEAE 650-M chromatography gel (column dimension: XK16/105). The reaction mixture is diluted with 50 ml Buffer A and loaded onto the DEAE column pre equilibrated with Buffer A at a flow rate of 1 cm/min. Then the column is washed with 20CV Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, pH 6.0) to remove free 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine and cyanide at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. The aminooxy-PSA reagent is the eluted with a step gradient consisting of 67 % Buffer B and 43 % Buffer C (20 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.5). The eluate is concentrated by UF/DF using a 5 kD membrane made of polyether sulfone (50 cm 2 , Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Buffer D (20mM Hepes, 90mM NaCl, pH 7.4). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total PSA (Resorcinol assay) and total aminooxy groups (TNBS assay) to determine the degree of modification. Furthermore the polydispersity as well as free 3-oxa-pentane- 1,5-dioxyamine is determined. - 76 - Example 9 Preparation of aminooxy-PSA reagent [00179] An Aminooxy - PSA reagent was prepared according to the Examples 4 - 8. After diafiltration, the product was frozen at -80'C and lyophilized. After lyophilization the reagent was dissolved in the appropriate volume of water and used for preparation of PSA protein conjugates via carbohydrate modification. Example 10 Evaluation of the efficacy of different alternative nucleophilic catalysts [00180] rFIX was incubated with sodium periodate, aminooxy-PSA reagent under standardized conditions (1 mg/ml rFIX in 20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl 2 , pH 6.0, 5-fold molar aminooxy-PSA reagent excess, 100 pM NaIO 4 ) using different nucleophilic catalysts (aniline, m-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, o-aminobenzoic acid, m-aminobenzoic acid, p-aminobenzoic acid, p-aminobenzamide, sulfanilic acid / standard concentration: 10 mM) The reaction was carried out for 2 hrs in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of aqueous cysteine solution with a final concentration of 1 mM. [00181] The coupling efficiency was determined by SDS-PAGE using an Invitrogen X-cell mini system. Samples were spiked with lithium dodecyl sulfate (LDS) buffer and denatured for 10 min at 70'C. Then the samples were applied on 3-8 % TRIS-acetate gels and ran at 150 V for 60 min. Subsequently the gels were stained with Coomassie. [00182] In addition the samples were characterized by use of a SEC-HPLC system using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). [00183] 50 l of samples were injected undiluted and eluted isocratically with a 0.22 pm filtered solution of 20 mM NaH2PO4, 50 mM Na2SO4, pH 6.1 at a flow rate of 0.5 ml/min. The elution pattern was recorded at 280 nm. [00184] The results are summarized in Figures 5A-C and 6 (SDS PAGE) and Table 2 (SEC- HPLC results). The catalytic effect of the different preparations is demonstrated. It is shown that the use of m-toluidine leads to equivalent results as obtained with aniline. - 77 - Table 2 nucleophilic catalysts di-PSAylated mono- free rFIX rFIX PSAylated rFIX no catalyst 4.5% 24.9% 70.6% 10mM aniline 47.7% 33.6% 18.7% 10mM m-toluidine 31.4% 40.8% 27.8% 10mM o-aminobenzioc acid 30.9% 38.5% 30.6% 10mM m-aminobenzioc acid 27.6% 38.0% 34.4% 10mM p-aminobenzioc acid 18.1% 39.3% 42.6% 10mM o-aminobenzamide 15.9% 38.4% 45.7% 10mM sulfanilic acid 11.8% 35.8% 52.4% Example 11 Polysialylation of rFIX using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00185] 12.3 mg rFIX was dissolved in 6.1 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). 254 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) was then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 6.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture was subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00186] The retentate (8.8 ml), containing oxidized rFIX was mixed with 2.46 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) was added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture was incubated for 2.5 h at RT in the dark under gentle stirring. [00187] The free rFIX was removed by means of anion exchange chromatography (AEC). The reaction mixture was diluted with 15 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre - 78 equilibrated with Buffer A. The column was then eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). Free rFIX elutes at a conductivity between 12-25 mS/cm and the conjugate between 27-45 mS/cm. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fractions was subsequently raised to 190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9). Free aminooxy-PSA reagent was washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4). The conjugate containing fractions were concentrated by UF/DF using Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrator. The final diafiltration step was performed against histidine buffer, pH 7.2 containing 150 mM NaCl and 5 mM CaCl2. The preparation was analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and FIX chromogenic activity. The PSA-rFIX conjugate showed a specific activity of > 50% in comparison to native rFIX is determined. Method 2: [00188] 12.3 mg rFIX is dissolved in in L-histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2) to get a final protein concentration of 1 mg rFIX / ml. A 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to get a final concentration of 100 PM and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 hour in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring at pH 6.0 and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution (or other quenching reagents) to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00189] The obtained retentate (8.8 ml), containing oxidized rFIX, is mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) to give a final concentration of 10 mM and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture was incubated at pH 6.0 for 2.5 hours at room temperature; 0.5 hours to 18 hours at +4'C) in the dark under gentle stirring. - 79 - [00190] The free rFIX is removed by means of anion exchange chromatography (AEC). The reaction mixture is diluted with appropriate amounts of Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5) to correct the solutions conductivity and pH prior to load onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). Free rFIX is eluted by a step gradient using 25 % of Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between 12-25 mS/cm in the obtained fraction and the conjugate using a step gradient of 50 % Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between between 27-45 mS/cm in the conjugate fraction. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fraction is subsequently raised to 190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9 or by use of anti-chaotropic salts e.g. ammonium sulphate, ammonium acetate etc.) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT or comparable HIC media) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9). Free aminooxy-PSA reagent is washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut off 10 kD, Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against L-histidine buffer, pH 7.2 containing 150 mM NaCl and 5 mM CaCl2. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and FIX chromogenic- and clotting activity. For the PSA-rFIX conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native rFIX is determined. Method 3: [00191] 25.4 mg rFIX was dissolved in 18.7 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). 531 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) and 5.07 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) were then added. Subsequently, the aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) was added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture was incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 25 p1 of 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. [00192] The free rFIX was removed by means of anion exchange chromatography (AEC). The reaction mixture was diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column was eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M - 80 - NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). Free rFIX eluted at a conductivity between 12-25 mS/cm and the conjugate between 27-45 mS/cm. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fractions was subsequently raised to 190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9). Free aminooxy-PSA reagent was washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently, the conjugate was eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4). The conjugate containing fractions were concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD, Millipore). The final diafiltration step was performed against histidine buffer, pH 7.2 containing 150 mM NaCl and 5 mM CaCl2. The preparation was analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and FIX chromogenic activity. For the PSA-rFIX conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native rFIX was determined. The conjugate was additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It was shown that the preparation contains no free FIX. The conjugate consisted of 57 % mono-polysialylated and 31 % di-polysialylated and 12 % tri polysialyated product. Method 4: [00193] 25.4 mg rFIX was dissolved in L-histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg rFIX / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution was added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) was added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture was incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of a 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00194] The free rFIX was removed by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The reaction mixture was diluted with appropriate amounts of Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5) to correct the solutions conductivity and pH value prior to load onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. - 81 - Then the column was eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). Free rFIX was eluted by a step gradient using 25 % of Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between 12-25 mS/cm in the obtained fraction and the conjugate using a step gradient of 50 % Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between 27-45 mS/cm in the conjugate fraction. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fraction was subsequently raised to 190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9; by use of anti-chaotropic salts e.g. ammonium acetate) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT; or comparable HIC media) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9). Free aminooxy-PSA reagent was washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently the conjugate was eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4). The conjugate containing fractions were concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD, Millipore). The final diafiltration step was performed against L-histidine buffer, pH 7.2 containing 150 mM NaCl and 5 mM CaCl2. The preparation was analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and FIX chromogenic- and clotting activity. For the PSA-rFIX conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native rFIX was determined. The conjugate was additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It was shown that the preparation contains no free FIX. The conjugate consisted of 57 % mono-polysialylated and 31 % di-polysialylated and 12 % tri polysialyated product. Example 12 Polysialylation of rFVIII using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00195] 50 mg rFVIII was transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO 4 was added to give a final concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation was carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. Then the reaction was quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. The solution was subjected to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which was equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl 2 , pH 7.0). The column was - 82 equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. Then the oxidized rFVIII was eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl 2 , IM NaCl, pH 7.0). The rFVIII containing fractions were collected. The protein content was determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5 M HCl. Then a 50-fold molar excess of a aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) was added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction was performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent was removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture was raised to 130 mS/cm by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate was eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl 2 . Finally, the PSA-rFVIII containing fractions were collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a 30 kD 2 membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88cm , Millipore). The preparation was analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and FVIII chromogenic activity. The PSA-rFVIII conjugate showed a specific activity of > 70% in comparison to native rFVIII was determined. Method 2: [00196] 58 mg of recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) derived from the ADVATE process in Hepes buffer (50 mM HEPES, -350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.1 % Polysorbate 80, pH 7.4) is dissolved in reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. - 83 - [00197] The oxidized rFVIII is further purified by anion exchange chromatography on EMD TMAE (M) (Merck). The mixture is diluted with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl 2 , pH 6.5) to give a conductivity of 5 ms/cm. This solution is loaded onto the IEX column (bed height: 5.4 cm) with a column volume of 10 ml using a flow rate of 1.5 cm/min. This column is subsequently washed (flow rate: 1.5 cm/min) with 5 CV of a 92:8 mixture (w/w) of Buffer A and Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl 2 , 1.0 M NaCl, pH 7.0). Then the oxidized rFVIII is eluted with a 50:50 (w/w) mixture of Buffer A and Buffer B followed by a postelution step with 5 CV of Buffer B. The elution steps are carried out by use of a flow rate of 1.0 cm/min. [00198] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH 2 ) reagent is added in a 50 fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized rFVIII within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00199] The obtained PSA-rFVIII conjugate is purified by Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) using a Phenyl Sepharose FF low sub resin (GE Healthcare) packed into a column manufactured by GE Healthcare with a bed height (h) of 15 cm and a resulting column volume (CV) of 81 ml. [00200] The reaction mixture is spiked with ammonium acetate by addition of 50 mM Hepes buffer, containing 350 mM sodium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Two volumes of the reaction mixture are mixed with 1 volume of the ammonium acetate containing buffer system and the pH value is corrected to pH 6.9 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. This mixture is loaded onto the HIC column at flow rate of 1 cm/min followed by a washing step using > 3 CV equilibration buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9). [00201] For removal of reaction by-products and anti-chaotropic salt a second washing step is performed with > 5CV washing buffer 1 (50 mM Hepes, 3 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) in upflow mode at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. Then elution of purified PSA-rFVIII conjugate is performed in down flow mode using a step gradient of 40 % washing buffer 2 (50 mM Hepes, 1.5 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH - 84 - 6.9) and 60 % elution buffer (20mM Hepes, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5) at a flow rate of 1 cm/min. The elution of the PSA-rFVIII conjugate is monitored at UV 280 nm and the eluate containing the conjugate is collected within < 4 CV. The post elution step is performed with > 3 CV elution buffer under the same conditions to separate minor and/or non modified rFVIII from the main product. [00202] Finally the purified conjugate is concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with a molecular weight cut off 30kD (88cm 2 , Millipore). [00203] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, FVIII chromogenic activity and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). For the conjugate obtained a specific activity > 50% and a PSA degree > 5.0 is calculated. Method 3: [00204] 50 mg rFVIII was transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) was added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM) and NaIO 4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction was performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction was quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (final concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture was raised to 130 mS/cm by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01 % Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate was eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally, the PSA-rFVIII containing fractions were collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a 30 kD 2 membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88cm , Millipore). The preparation was analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and FVIII chromogenic activity. For the PSA-rFVIII conjugate a specific activity of > 70% in comparison to native rFVIII was determined. - 85 - Method 4: [00205] 50 mg recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) derived from the ADVATE process in 50 mM Hepes buffer (50 mM HEPES, ~350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.1 % Polysorbate 80, pH 7.4) was dissolved in reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution was corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00206] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent was added in a 50-fold molar excess to this rFVIII solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) was added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution was added to give a concentration of 400 pM. [00207] The reaction mixture was incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction was stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00208] The obtained PSA-rFVIII conjugate was purified by Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) using a Phenyl Sepharose FF low sub resin (GE Healthcare) packed into a column manufactured by GE Healthcare with a bed height (h) of 15 cm and a resulting column volume (CV) of 81 ml. [00209] The reaction mixture was spiked with ammonium acetate by addition of of 50 mM Hepes buffer, containing 350 mM sodium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Two volumes of the reaction mixture was mixed with 1 volume of the ammonium acetate containing buffer system and the pH value was corrected to pH 6.9 by drop wise addition of an 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. This mixture was loaded onto the HIC column using a flow rate of 1 cm/min followed by a washing step using > 3CV equilibration buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9). [00210] For removal of reaction by-products and anti-chaotropic salt a second washing step was performed with > 5CV washing buffer 1 (50 mM Hepes, 3 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) in upflow mode at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. Then elution of purified rFVIII conjugate was performed in down flow mode using a step gradient of 40 % - 86 washing buffer 2 (50 mM Hepes, 1.5 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) and 60 % elution buffer (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5) at a flow rate of 1 cm/min. The elution of the PSA-rFVIII conjugate was monitored at UV 280 nm and the eluate containing the conjugate was collected within < 4 CV. The post elution step was performed with > 3 CV elution buffer under the same conditions to separate minor and/or non modified rFVIII from the main product. [00211] Finally, the purified conjugate was concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with a molecular weight cut off 30kD (88cm2, Millipore). [00212] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure were analytically characterized by measuring total protein, FVIII chromogenic activity and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Analytical data (mean of 6 consecutive batches): Process yield (Bradford): 58.9% Process yield (FVIII chrom.): 46.4% Specific activity: (FVIII chrom. / mg protein): 4148 IU/mg Specific activity (% of starting material): 79.9 % PSA degree (mol/mol): 8.1 Example 13 PEGylation of r FVIII using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00213] rFVIII is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). 14.7 mg rFVIII is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). Then 296 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture was subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. - 87 - [00214] The retentate (10.9 ml), containing oxidized rFVIII, is mixed with 2.94 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture was incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00215] Finally, the PEG-rFVIII conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a 30 kD membrane (50cm2, Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and FVIII chromogenic activity. It is expected that the PEG-rFVIII conjugate will demonstrate a specific activity of > 70% in comparison to native rFVIII was determined. Method 2: [00216] rFVIII is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). A starting weight or concentration of rFVIII is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/-5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00217] The oxidized rFVIII is further purified by anion exchange chromatography on EMD TMAE (M) (Merck). The mixture is diluted with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.5) to give a conductivity of 5 ms/cm. This solution is loaded onto the IEX column (bed height: 5.4 cm) with a column volume of 10 ml using a flow rate of 1.5 cm/min. This column is subsequently washed (flow rate: 1.5 cm/min) with 5 CV of a 92:8 mixture (w/w) of Buffer A and Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, 1.0 M NaCl, pH 7.0). Then the oxidized rFVIII is eluted with a 50:50 (w/w) mixture of Buffer A and Buffer B followed - 88 by a postelution step with 5 CV of Buffer B. The elution steps are carried out by use of a flow rate of 1.0 cm/min. [00218] Subsequently, the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized rFVIII within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00219] The obtained PEG-rFVIII conjugate is purified by Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) using a Phenyl Sepharose FF low sub resin (GE Healthcare) packed into a column manufactured by GE Healthcare with a bed height (h) of 15 cm and a resulting column volume (CV) of 81 ml. [00220] The reaction mixture is spiked with ammonium acetate by addition of 50 mM Hepes buffer, containing 350 mM sodium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Two volumes of the reaction mixture are mixed with 1 volume of the ammonium acetate containing buffer system and the pH value is corrected to pH 6.9 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. This mixture is loaded onto the HIC column using a flow rate of 1 cm/min followed by a washing step using > 3 CV equilibration buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9). [00221] For removal of reaction by-products and anti-chaotropic salt a second washing step is performed with > 5CV washing buffer 1 (50 mM Hepes, 3 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) in upflow mode at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. Then elution of purified rFVIII conjugate is performed in down flow mode using a step gradient of 40 % washing buffer 2 (50 mM Hepes, 1.5 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) and 60 % elution buffer (20mM Hepes, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5) at a flow rate of lcm/min. The elution of the PEG-rFVIII conjugate is monitored at UV 280 nm and the eluate containing the conjugate is collected within < 4 CV. The post elution step is performed with > 3 CV elution buffer under the same conditions to separate minor and/or non modified rFVIII from the main product. - 89 - [00222] Finally, the purified conjugate is concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with a molecular weight cut off 30kD (Millipore). [00223] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00224] rFVIII is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). 7.84 mg rFVIII, dissolved in 6 ml Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) are mixed with 314 P1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and 1.57 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 P1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00225] Finally the PEG-rFVIII conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl 2 . The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl 2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a 30 kD membrane (88cm 2 , Millipore). The analytical characterization of the conjugate by FVIII chromogenic assay and determination of total protein (Bradford) shows a specific activity of > 60% compared to the rFVIII starting material. Method 4: [00226] rFVIII is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of rFVIII is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg rFVIII / ml. Subsequently, an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar excess. - 90 - After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of a 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00227] The free rFVIII is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The reaction mixture was diluted with appropriate amounts of Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5) to correct the solutions conductivity and pH value prior to load onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column was eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). Free rFVIII was eluted by a step gradient using 25 % of Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between 12-25 mS/cm in the obtained fraction and the conjugate using a step gradient of 50 % Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between 27-45 mS/cm in the conjugate fraction. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fraction is subsequently raised with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9; by use of anti chaotropic salts e.g. ammonium acetate, ammonium sulphate etc.) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT; or comparable HIC media) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9). Free PEG reagent was washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently, the conjugate was eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD, Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00228] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 14 Polysialylation of rFVIla using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00229] A starting concentration or weight of recombinant factor VIa (rFVIla) is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 50 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/ - 91 - 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T = +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00230] The oxidized rFVIIa is further purified by anion exchange chromatography on EMD TMAE (M) (Merck). The mixture is diluted with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl 2 , pH 6.5) to give a conductivity of 5 ms/cm. This solution is loaded onto the IEX column (bed height: 5.4 cm) with a column volume of 10 ml using a flow rate of 1.5 cm/min. This column is subsequently washed (flow rate: 1.5 cm/min) with 5 CV of a 92:8 mixture (w/w) of Buffer A and Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl 2 , 1.0 M NaCl, pH 7.0). Then the oxidized rFVIIa is eluted with a 50:50 (w/w) mixture of Buffer A and Buffer B followed by a postelution step with 5 CV of Buffer B. The elution steps are carried out by use of a flow rate of 1.0 cm/min. [00231] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH 2 ) reagent is added in a 50 fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized rFVIIa within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00232] The obtained PSA-rFVIIa conjugate is purified by Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) using a Phenyl Sepharose FF low sub resin (GE Healthcare) packed into a column manufactured by GE Healthcare with a bed height (h) of 15 cm and a resulting column volume (CV) of 81 ml. [00233] The reaction mixture is spiked with ammonium acetate by addition of 50 mM Hepes buffer, containing 350 mM sodium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Two volumes of the reaction mixture are mixed with 1 volume of the ammonium acetate containing buffer system and the pH value is corrected to pH 6.9 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. This mixture is loaded onto the HIC column using a flow rate of 1 cm/min followed by a washing step using > 3 CV equilibration buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9). - 92 - [00234] For removal of reaction by-products and anti-chaotropic salt a second washing step is performed with > 5CV washing buffer 1 (50 mM Hepes, 3 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) in upflow mode at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. Then elution of purified rFVIla conjugate is performed in down flow mode using a step gradient of 40 % washing buffer 2 (50 mM Hepes, 1.5 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) and 60 % elution buffer (20mM Hepes, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5) at a flow rate of 1 cm/min. The elution of the PSA-rFVJIa conjugate is monitored at UV 280 nm and the eluate containing the conjugate is collected within < 4 CV. The post elution step is performed with > 3 CV elution buffer under the same conditions to separate minor and/or non modified rFVJIa from the main product. [00235] Finally, the purified conjugate is concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (e.g. 10 kD MWCO, 88cm 2 , Millipore). [00236] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure is analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 2: [00237] A starting weight or concentration of rFVJIa is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. [00238] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH 2 ) reagent is added in a 50 fold molar excess to this rFVJIa solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 150 PM. [00239] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. - 93 - [00240] The obtained PSA-rFVIIa conjugate is purified by Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) using a Phenyl Sepharose FF low sub resin (GE Healthcare) packed into a column manufactured by GE Healthcare with a bed height (h) of 15 cm and a resulting column volume (CV) of 81 ml. [00241] The reaction mixture is spiked with ammonium acetate by addition of of 50 mM Hepes buffer, containing 350 mM sodium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Two volumes of the reaction mixture is mixed with 1 volume of the ammonium acetate containing buffer system and the pH value is corrected to pH 6.9 by drop wise addition of an 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. This mixture is loaded onto the HIC column using a flow rate of 1 cm/min followed by a washing step using > 3CV equilibration buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9). [00242] For removal of reaction by-products and anti-chaotropic salt a second washing step is performed with > 5CV washing buffer 1 (50 mM Hepes, 3 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) in upflow mode at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. Then elution of purified rFVIIa conjugate is performed in down flow mode using a step gradient of 40 % washing buffer 2 (50 mM Hepes, 1.5 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) and 60 % elution buffer (20mM Hepes, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5) at a flow rate of 1 cm/min. The elution of the PSA-rFVIIa conjugate is monitored at UV 280 nm and the eluate containing the conjugate was collected within < 4 CV. The post elution step is performed with > 3 CV elution buffer under the same conditions to separate minor and/or non modified rFVIII from the main product. [00243] Finally, the purified conjugate is concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00244] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). - 94 - Example 15 PEGylation of rFIX using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00245] rFIX is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). A starting weight or concentration of rFIX is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T = +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00246] The oxidized rFVIII is further purified by anion exchange chromatography on EMD TMAE (M) (Merck). The mixture is diluted with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.5) to give a conductivity of 5 mS/cm. This solution is loaded onto the IEX column (bed height: 5.4 cm) with a column volume of 10 ml using a flow rate of 1.5 cm/min. This column is subsequently washed (flow rate: 1.5 cm/min) with 5 CV of a 92:8 mixture (w/w) of Buffer A and Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, 1.0 M NaCl, pH 7.0). Then the oxidized rFIX is eluted with a 50:50 (w/w) mixture of Buffer A and Buffer B followed by a postelution step with 5 CV of Buffer B. The elution steps are carried out by use of a flow rate of 1.0 cm/min. [00247] Subsequently, the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized rFIX within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. - 95 - [00248] The obtained PEG-rFIX conjugate is purified by Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) using a Phenyl Sepharose FF low sub resin (GE Healthcare) packed into a column manufactured by GE Healthcare with a bed height (h) of 15 cm and a resulting column volume (CV) of 81 ml. [00249] The reaction mixture is spiked with ammonium acetate by addition of 50 mM Hepes buffer, containing 350 mM sodium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Two volumes of the reaction mixture are mixed with 1 volume of the ammonium acetate containing buffer system and the pH value is corrected to pH 6.9 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. This mixture is loaded onto the HIC column using a flow rate of 1 cm/min followed by a washing step using > 3 CV equilibration buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9). [00250] For removal of reaction by-products and anti-chaotropic salt a second washing step is performed with > 5CV washing buffer 1 (50 mM Hepes, 3 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) in upflow mode at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. Then elution of purified rFIX conjugate is performed in down flow mode using a step gradient of 40 % washing buffer 2 (50 mM Hepes, 1.5 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) and 60 % elution buffer (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5) at a flow rate of 1 cm/min. The elution of the PEG-rFIX conjugate is monitored at UV 280 nm and the eluate containing the conjugate is collected within < 4 CV. The post elution step is performed with > 3 CV elution buffer under the same conditions to separate minor and/or non modified rFIX from the main product. [00251] Finally, the purified conjugate is concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with a molecular weight cut off 10kD (88cm2, Millipore). [00252] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00253] rFIX is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of rFIX is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, - 96 pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg rFIX / ml. Subsequently, an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of a 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00254] The free rFIX is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The reaction mixture was diluted with appropriate amounts of Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5) to correct the solutions conductivity and pH value prior to load onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column was eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). Free rFIX was eluted by a step gradient using 25 % of Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between 12- 25 mS/cm in the obtained fraction and the conjugate using a step gradient of 50 % Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between 27-45 mS/cm in the conjugate fraction. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fraction is subsequently raised with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9; by use of anti chaotropic salts e.g. ammonium acetate, etc) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT; or comparable HIC media) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9). Free aminooxy-PEG reagent was washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently, the conjugate was eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut off 10 kD, Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00255] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. - 97 - Example 16 PEGylation of rFVJIa using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00256] rFVIla is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). A starting weight or concentration of rFVIla is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 50 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00257] The oxidized rFVIla is further purified by anion exchange chromatography on EMD TMAE (M) (Merck). The mixture is diluted with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.5) to give a conductivity of 5 mS/cm. This solution is loaded onto the IEX column (bed height: 5.4 cm) with a column volume of 10 ml using a flow rate of 1.5 cm/min. This column is subsequently washed (flow rate: 1.5 cm/min) with 5 CV of a 92:8 mixture (w/w) of Buffer A and Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, 1.0 M NaCl, pH 7.0). Then the oxidized rFVJIa is eluted with a 50:50 (w/w) mixture of Buffer A and Buffer B followed by a postelution step with 5 CV of Buffer B. The elution steps are carried out by use of a flow rate of 1.0 cm/min. [00258] Subsequently, the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized rFVJIa within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. - 98 - [00259] The obtained PEG-rFVIIa conjugate is purified by Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) using a Phenyl Sepharose FF low sub resin (GE Healthcare) packed into a column manufactured by GE Healthcare with a bed height (h) of 15 cm and a resulting column volume (CV) of 81 ml. [00260] The reaction mixture is spiked with ammonium acetate by addition of 50 mM Hepes buffer, containing 350 mM sodium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Two volumes of the reaction mixture are mixed with 1 volume of the ammonium acetate containing buffer system and the pH value is corrected to pH 6.9 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous NaOH solution. This mixture is loaded onto the HIC column using a flow rate of 1 cm/min followed by a washing step using > 3 CV equilibration buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9). [00261] For removal of reaction by-products and anti-chaotropic salt a second washing step is performed with > 5CV washing buffer 1 (50 mM Hepes, 3 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) in upflow mode at a flow rate of 2 cm/min. Then elution of purified rFVIIa conjugate is performed in down flow mode using a step gradient of 40 % washing buffer 2 (50 mM Hepes, 1.5 M sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9) and 60 % elution buffer (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5) at a flow rate of 1 cm/min. The elution of the PEG-rFVIIa conjugate is monitored at UV 280 nm and the eluate containing the conjugate is collected within < 4 CV. The post elution step is performed with > 3 CV elution buffer under the same conditions to separate minor and/or non modified rFVIIa from the main product. [00262] Finally, the purified conjugate is concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with a molecular weight cut off 10kD (Millipore). [00263] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00264] rFVIIa is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of rFVIIa is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, - 99 pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg rFVIla / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of a 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00265] The free rFVJIa is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The reaction mixture was diluted with appropriate amounts of Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5) to correct the solutions conductivity and pH value prior to load onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column was eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). Free rFVJIa was eluted by a step gradient using 25 % of Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between 12-25 mS/cm in the obtained fraction and the conjugate using a step gradient of 50 % Buffer B, which results in a conductivity between 27-45 mS/cm in the conjugate fraction. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fraction is subsequently raised with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9; by use of anti chaotropic salts e.g. ammonium acetate) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT; or comparable HIC media) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 6.9). Free PEG-reagent was washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently the conjugate was eluted with 100% Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD, Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00266] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. - 100 - Example 17 Polysialylation of rFIX in the presence of o-amino benzoic acid Method 1: [00267] 8.2 mg rFIX is dissolved in 4.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl 2 ). Then 82 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 4 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 6 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00268] The retentate (6.5 ml), containing oxidized rFIX, is mixed with 1.64 ml of an aqueous o-amino benzoic acid (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture was incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00269] The further purification of the conjugate is carried out as described herein. Method 2: [00270] A solution of 1 mg rFIX in 0.65 ml sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0 containing a 5-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) was prepared. Then 333 p1 of an aqueous o-amino benzoic acid solution (30 mM) was added as nucleophilic catalyst to give a final concentration of 10 mM. Subsequently 20 P1 of an aqueous solution of NaIO 4 (5 mM) was added yielding in a final concentration of 100 PM. The coupling process was performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 1 P1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). The further purification of the conjugate is carried out as described herein. - 101 - Example 18 Polysialylation of EPO using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00271] A starting concentration of erythropoietin (EPO) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO 4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00272] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl 2 , pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized EPO is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl 2 , IM NaCl, pH 7.0). The EPO containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5M HCl. [00273] A 50-fold molar excess of a aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl 2 . Finally the PSA-EPO containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (MWCO 1OkD, 50cm 2 , Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00274] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. - 102 - [00275] 10 mg EPO is dissolved in 5 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCI). 100 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 50 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00276] The retentate (approx. 7 ml), containing oxidized EPO, is mixed with 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at RT in the dark under gentle stirring. [00277] The free EPO is removed by means of anion exchange chromatography (AEC). The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 7.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.5). Free EPO is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fractions is subsequently raised to -190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, pH 6.9). Free PSA-reagent is washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, pH 7.4). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 7.2 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PSA-EPO conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native EPO is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free EPO. - 103 - Method 2: [00278] EPO is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T =+22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00279] The oxidized EPO is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized EPO containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00280] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized EPO within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00281] The obtained PSA-EPO conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-EPO conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00282] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00283] Erythropoietin (EPO) is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50 fold molar excess of a aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, - 104 the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01% Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally, the PSA-EPO containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (MWCO 10 kD, 88cm2, Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00284] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. 10 mg EPO is dissolved in 8 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 200 P1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) and 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) are then added. Subsequently, the aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 100 p1 of 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. [00285] The free EPO is removed by means of anion exchange chromatography (AEC). The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 7.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.5). Free EPO is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fractions is subsequently raised to -190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, pH 6.9). Free PSA-reagent is washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 100% Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, pH 7.4). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD, Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 7.2 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PSA-EPO conjugate a specific activity of > - 105 - 50 % in comparison to native EPO is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free EPO. Method 4: [00286] EPO is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00287] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this EPO solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00288] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00289] The obtained PSA-EPO conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-EPO containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra /diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (MWCO 10 kD, 88cm2, Millipore). [00290] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 19 Polysialylation of Ang-2 using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00291] A starting concentration of angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give - 106 a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00292] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts, or, in the alternative, subjected to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized Ang-2 is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.0). The Ang-2 containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5 M HCl. [00293] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally, the PSA - Ang-2 containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00294] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at R.T. - 107 - [00295] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00296] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-Ang-2 conjugate-containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00297] Ang-2 is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00298] The oxidized Ang-2 is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized Ang-2 containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00299] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized Ang-2 within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00300] The obtained PSA- Ang-2 conjugate is further purified by ion-exchange chromatographyn - 108 - [00301] The PSA-Ang-2 conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00302] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00303] Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50 fold molar excess of a PSA aminooxy reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01% Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally, the PSA Ang-2-containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00304] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of a PSA aminooxy reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) and the conjugate is purified by - 109 ion exchange chromatography. PSA Ang-2-containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00305] Ang-2 is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00306] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this Ang-2 solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00307] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00308] The obtained PSA-Ang-2 conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-Ang-2 containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra /diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00309] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 20 Polysialylation of VEGF using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00310] A starting concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation is carried at - 110 - RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00311] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized VEGF is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.0). The VEGF containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5M NaOH. [00312] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally the PSA - VEGF containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00313] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00314] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. - 111 - [00315] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography. The PSA - VEGF -containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00316] VEGF is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00317] The oxidized VEGF is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized VEGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00318] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized VEGF within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00319] The obtained PSA-VEGF conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-VEGF conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). - 112 - [00320] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00321] Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of a PSA aminooxy reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 PM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01% Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally, the PSA-VEGF containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00322] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) and the conjugate is purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-VEGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 113 - Method 4: [00323] VEGF is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00324] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this VEGF solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00325] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00326] The obtained VEGF- conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-VEGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra /diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00327] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 21 Polysialylation of EGF using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00328] A starting concentration of epidermal growth factor (EGF) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaJO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 kM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at R.T. - 114 - [00329] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized EGF is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, IM NaCl, pH 7.0). The EGF containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5M HCl. [00330] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally, the PSA-EGF containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00331] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at R.T. [00332] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. - 115 - [00333] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-EGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00334] EGF is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00335] The oxidized EGF is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized EGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00336] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized EGF within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00337] The obtained PSA-EGF conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-EGF conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). - 116 - [00338] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00339] Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of a PSA aminooxy reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01% Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally the PSA EGF containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00340] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of a PSA aminooxy reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) and the conjugate is purified by ion exchange chromatography. The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 117 - Method 4: [00341] EGF is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00342] Subsequently the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50 fold molar excess to this EGF-solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 kM. [00343] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00344] The obtained EGF-conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-EGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra /diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00345] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 22 Polysialylation of NGF using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00346] A starting concentration of nerve growth factor (NGF) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaJO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 kM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. - 118 - [00347] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized NGF is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, IM NaCl, pH 7.0). The NGF containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5M HCl. [00348] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally, the PSA-NGF containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00349] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00350] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. - 119 - [00351] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-NGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00352] NGF is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00353] The oxidized NGF is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized NGFcontaining fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00354] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized NGF within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00355] The obtained PSA-NGF conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-NGF conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). - 120 - [00356] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00357] Nerve growth factor (NGF) is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01 % Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally, the PSA NGF -containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00358] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) and the conjugate is purified by ion exchange chromatography. Then the PSA-NGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 121 - Method 4: [00359] NGF is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00360] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this NGF-solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00361] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00362] The obtained NGF- conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-NGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra /diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00363] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 23 Polysialylation of HGH using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00364] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00365] A starting concentration of human growth hormone (HGH) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in - 122 the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00366] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized HGH is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.0). The HGH containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5 M HCl. [00367] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally, the PSA-HGH containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00368] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. HGH is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. - 123 - [00369] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00370] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-HGH containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00371] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00372] HGH is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00373] The oxidized HGH is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized HGH containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00374] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized HGH within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). - 124 - [00375] The obtained PSA-HGH conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-HGH conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00376] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00377] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00378] Human growth hormone (HGH) is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50 fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01% Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally, the PSA HGH -containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00379] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. HGH is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 - 125 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50 fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaJO4 (final concentration: 400 PM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) and the conjugate is purified by ion exchange chromatography. Then the PSA -HGH -containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00380] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00381] HGH is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00382] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this HGH- solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00383] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00384] The obtained HGH- conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-HGH containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). - 126 - [00385] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 24 Polysialylation of TNF-alpha using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst [00386] A starting concentration of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00387] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized TNF-alpha is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, IM NaCl, pH 7.0). The TNF-alpha containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5M HCl. [00388] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally the PSA- TNF alpha -containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized - 127 by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00389] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00390] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-TNF alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00391] TNF-alpha is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00392] The oxidized TNF-alpha is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized TNF-alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. - 128 - [00393] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized TNF-alpha within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00394] The obtained PSA-TNF-alpha conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-TNF-alpha conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00395] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00396] Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 PM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01 % Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally the PSA-TNF-alpha -containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 129 - [00397] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) .and the conjugate is purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-TNF-alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00398] TNF-alpha is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00399] Subsequently the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50 fold molar excess to this TNF-alpha-solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00400] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00401] The obtained TNF-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-TNF-alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00402] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). - 130 - Example 25 Polysialylation of insulin using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00403] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. A starting concentration of insulin is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00404] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized insulin is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.0). The insulin containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5 M HCl. [00405] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally the PSA-insulin containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by - 131 measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00406] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. Insulin is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00407] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00408] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-insulin containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00409] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00410] Insulin is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. - 132 - [00411] The oxidized insulin is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized insulin containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00412] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized insulin within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00413] The obtained PSA-insulin conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-insulin conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00414] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00415] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00416] Insulin is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaJO4 (final concentration: 400 kM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01 % Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the - 133 conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally, the PSA insulin containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00417] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00418] Insulin is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) and the conjugate is purified by ion exchange chromatography. PSA-insulin containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00419] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00420] Insulin is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. - 134 - [00421] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this insulin-solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00422] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00423] The obtained insulin conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA- insulin containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra /diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00424] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 26 Polysialylation of interferon-alpha using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00425] A starting concentration of interferon-alpha is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00426] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized interferon-alpha is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, IM NaCl, pH 7.0). The interferon-alpha containing fractions are collected. The - 135 protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/mi with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5 M HCl. [00427] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally the PSA interferon-alpha containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00428] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Interferon-alpha is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00429] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00430] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-interferon-alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 136 - Method 2: [00431] Interferon-alpha is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/ 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00432] The oxidized interferon-alpha is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized interferon-alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00433] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized interferon-gamma within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00434] The obtained PSA-interferon-alpha conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-interferon-alpha conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). Method 3: [00435] Interferon-alpha is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of a PSA aminooxy reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing - 137 ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01 % Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally, the PSA-interferon-alpha containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00436] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Interferon-alpha is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) and the conjugate is purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-interferon-alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00437] Interferon-alpha is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00438] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this interferon-alpha solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 pM. - 138 - [00439] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00440] The obtained interferon-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-interferon-alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00441] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 27 Polysialylation of Interferon-gamma using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00442] 10 mg interferon-gamma is dissolved in 5 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 100 k 1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4 0 C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 50 P 1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00443] The retentate (approx. 7 ml), containing oxidized interferon-gamma, is mixed with 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at RT in the dark under gentle stirring. [00444] The free Interferon-gamma is removed by means of cation exchange chromatography (CEC). The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep SPFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 6.5). Free interferon-gamma is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B - 139 and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fractions is subsequently raised to -190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, pH 6.9). Free PSA-reagent is washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.9). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD, Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 6.9 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PSA-Interferon-gamma conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native Interferon-gamma is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free Interferon gamma. Method 2: [00445] 10 mg interferon-gamma is dissolved in 8 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 200 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) and 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) are then added. Subsequently the aminooxy PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 100 P1 of 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. [00446] The free interferon gamma is removed by means of cation exchange chromatography (CEC). The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep SPFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 6.5). Free interferon-gamma is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fractions is subsequently raised to -190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, pH 6.9). Free PSA-reagent is washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 - 140 mM Hepes, pH 6.9). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 6.9 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PSAinterferon-gamma conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native interferon-gamma is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free interferon-gamma. Method 3: [00447] 10 mg interferon-gamma is dissolved in 8 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 200 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) and 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) are then added. Subsequently the aminooxy PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 100 P1 of 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. [00448] The free interferon gamma is removed by means of cation exchange chromatography (CEC). The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep SPFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 6.5). Free interferon-gamma is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fractions is subsequently raised to -190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, pH 6.9). Free PSA-reagent is washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 100% Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.9). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 6.9 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PSAinterferon-gamma conjugate a - 141 specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native interferon-gamma is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free interferon-gamma. Method 4: [00449] Interferon-gamma is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00450] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this interferon-gamma solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00451] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00452] The obtained interferon-gamma conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-interferon-gamma containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00453] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 28 Polysialylation of G-CSF using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00454] A starting concentration of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM - 142 calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00455] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized G-CSF is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.0). The G-CSF containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5 M HCl. [00456] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally the PSA- G-CSF containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00457] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g., 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. - 143 - [00458] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-G-CSF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00459] G-CSF is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00460] The oxidized G-CSF is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized G-CSF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00461] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized G-CSF within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00462] The obtained PSA-G-CSF conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-G-CSF conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). - 144 - [00463] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00464] Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 PM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01 % Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally, the PSA-G-CSF -containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00465] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) and the conjugate is purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-G-CSF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 145 - Method 4: [00466] G-CSF is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00467] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this G-CSF solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00468] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00469] The obtained G-CSF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA-G-CSF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra /diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00470] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 29 Polysialylation of Humira using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00471] A starting concentration of Humira is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaJO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 kM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00472] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an - 146 - IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized Humira is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, IM NaCl, pH 7.0). The Humira containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5M HCl. [00473] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally, the PSA-Humira containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00474] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Humira is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaIO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. [00475] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of ion exchange chromatographyThe PSA-Humira containing fractions of the elutae are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a a - 147 membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00476] Humira is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 kM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2 0 C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00477] The oxidized Humira is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized Humira containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00478] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized Humira within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00479] The obtained PSA-Humira conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-Humira conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00480] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). - 148 - Method 3: [00481] Humira is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01 % Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally the PSA Humira containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00482] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Humira is transferred into reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM) and the conjugate is purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PSA-Humira containing fractions of the eluate are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 149 - Method 4: [00483] Humira is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00484] Subsequently, the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to this Humira solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00485] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00486] The obtained Humira-conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA- Humira containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra /diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00487] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 30 Polysialylation of Prolia using aminooxy-PSA and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00488] A starting concentration of Prolia is transferred into a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. To this solution, NaJO4 is added to give a final concentration of 200 kM. The oxidation is carried at RT for 30 min in the dark under gentle shaking. The reaction is then quenched with cysteine (final concentration: 10 mM) for 60 min at RT. - 150 - [00489] The solution is next subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof or, in the alternative, to an IEX column with a volume of 20 ml (Merck EMD TMAE (M)) which is equilibrated with Buffer A (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0). The column is equilibrated with 5 CV Buffer A. The oxidized Prolia is eluted with Buffer B (20 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, IM NaCl, pH 7.0). The Prolia containing fractions are collected. The protein content is determined (Coomassie, Bradford) and adjusted to 1 mg/ml with reaction buffer and adjusted to pH 6.0 by dropwise addition of 0.5 M HCl. [00490] A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (final concentration: 10 mM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. The excess of aminooxy reagent is removed by means of HIC. The conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with 80 ml Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer pH 7.5 containing 5 mM CaCl2. Finally, the PSA-Prolia containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00491] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. 10 mg Prolia is dissolved in 5 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 100 P 1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4 0 C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 50 k 1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. - 151 - [00492] The retentate (approx. 7 ml), containing oxidized Prolia, is mixed with 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at RT in the dark under gentle stirring. [00493] The free Prolia is removed by means of cation exchange chromatography (CEC). The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep SPFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 6.5). Free Prolia is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fractions is subsequently raised to -190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, pH 6.9). Free PSA-reagent is washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently, the conjugate is eluted with 100 % Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.9). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD, Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 6.9 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PSA-Prolia conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native Prolia is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free Prolia. Method 2: [00494] Prolia is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. - 152 - [00495] The oxidized Prolia is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized Prolia containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00496] The aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH2) reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized Prolia within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. at pH 6.0 in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking (protein concentration: 1 mg/ml). [00497] The obtained Prolia conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The Prolia conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00498] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedureis analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Method 3: [00499] Prolia is transferred into reaction buffer (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and diluted to obtain a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. A 50-fold molar excess of aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added followed by m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst (10 mM final concentration) and NaIO 4 (final concentration: 400 pM). The coupling reaction is performed for 2 hours in the dark under gentle shaking at room temperature. Subsequently, the reaction is quenched with cysteine for 60 min at RT (cysteine concentration: 10 mM). Then the conductivity of the reaction mixture is adjusted by adding a buffer containing ammonium acetate (50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 8 M ammonium acetate, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a column filled with Phenyl Sepharose FF (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes, 2.5 M ammonium acetate, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, 0.01 % Tween 80, pH 6.9. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 7.5. Finally the PSA Prolia -containing fractions are collected and subjected to UF/DF by use of a membrane made of regenerated cellulose - 153 - (Millipore). The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00500] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. 10 mg Prolia is dissolved in 8 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 200 P1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) and 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) are then added. Subsequently the aminooxy-PSA reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5 fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 100 p1 of 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. [00501] The free Prolia is removed by means of cation exchange chromatography (CEC). The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep SPFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 6.5). Free Prolia is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 5 0% Buffer B. The conductivity of the conjugate containing fractions is subsequently raised to -190 mS/cm with Buffer C (50 mM Hepes, 5 M NaCl, pH 6.9) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep Butyl FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer D (50 mM Hepes, 3 M NaCl, pH 6.9). Free PSA-reagent is washed out within 5 CV Buffer D. Subsequently the conjugate is eluted with 100% Buffer E (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.9). The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm 2 , cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 6.9 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PSA-Prolia conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native Prolia is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free Prolia. - 154 - Method 4: [00502] Prolia is dissolved in or transferred to a reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. [00503] Subsequently the aminooxy-polysialic acid (PSA-ONH 2 ) reagent is added in a 50 fold molar excess to this Prolia - solution within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. Finally a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added to give a concentration of 400 PM. [00504] The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. Then the reaction is stopped by the addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00505] The obtained Prolia conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The PSA- Prolia containing fractions of the eluate are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose (Millipore). [00506] The conjugates prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein, biological activity according to methods known in the art, and determination of the polysialyation degree by measuring the PSA content (resorcinol assay). Example 31 Polysialylation of other therapeutic proteins [00507] Polysialylation reactions performed in the presence of alternative nucleophilic catalysts like m-toluidine or o-aminobenzoic acid as described herein may be extended to other therapeutic proteins. For example, in various aspects of the invention, the above polysialylation or PEGylation reactions as described herein with PSA aminooxy or PEG aminooxy reagents is repeated with therapeutic proteins such as those proteins described herein. - 155 - Example 32 PEGylation of EPO using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00508] Erythropoietin (EPO) is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). EPO is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00509] The retentate containing oxidized EPO is next mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00510] Finally, the PEG-EPO conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g. on Q Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl 2 . The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl 2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00511] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. EPO is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). 10 mg EPO is dissolved in 5 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 100 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 50 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The - 156 mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00512] The retentate (approx. 7 ml), containing oxidized EPO, is mixed with 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at RT in the dark under gentle stirring. [00513] Finally, the PEG-EPO conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose FF. The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 7.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.5). Free EPO is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 7.2 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity biological activity according to methods known in the art.. For the PEG-EPO conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native EPO is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free EPO. Method 2: [00514] EPO is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). [00515] EPO is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by - 157 addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00516] The oxidized EPO is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized EPO containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00517] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized EPO within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00518] The obtained PEG- EPO conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG-EPO conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00519] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00520] EPO is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). EPO is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently, the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 p1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00521] Finally, the PEG-EPO conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 158 - [00522] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. EPO is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). 10 mg EPO is dissolved in -8 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 200 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) and 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) are then added. Subsequently, the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 100 P1 of 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. [00523] Finally, the PEG-EPO conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose FF. The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 7.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep QFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 7.5). Free EPO is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 7.2 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PEG-EPO conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native EPO is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free EPO. Method 4: [00524] EPO is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of EPO is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg EPO / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final - 159 concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of a 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00525] The PEG-EPO conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm 2 , cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl 2 , pH 7.5). [00526] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 33 PEGylation of Ang-2 using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00527] Ang-2 is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Ang-2 is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00528] The retentate containing oxidized Ang-2 is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. - 160 - [00529] Finally, the PEG-Ang-2 conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g. on Q Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00530] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Ang-2 is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Ang-2 is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00531] The retentate containing oxidized Ang-2 is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00532] Finally, the PEG- Ang-2 conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containing fraction of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00533] Ang-2 is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). [00534] Ang-2 is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a - 161 - 0.5N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00535] The oxidized Ang-2 is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized Ang-2 containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00536] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized Ang-2 within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00537] The obtained PEG- Ang-2 conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG-Ang-2 conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00538] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00539] Ang-2 is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Ang-2 is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00540] Finally, the PEG- Ang-2 conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM - 162 - Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00541] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Ang-2 is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Ang-2 is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00542] Finally the PEG-Ang-2 conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography The conjugatecontaing freactions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF.. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00543] Ang-2 is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of Ang-2 is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg Ang-2 / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20- fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. - 163 - [00544] The PEG-Ang-2 conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00545] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods.. [00546] Subsequently, the free Ang-2 is removed by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF. Example 34 PEGylation of VEGF using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00547] VEGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). VEGF is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00548] The retentate containing oxidized VEGF is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00549] Finally, the PEG- VEGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH - 164 - 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00550] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. VEGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). VEGF is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00551] The retentate containing oxidized VEGF is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00552] Finally, the PEG- VEGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography The conjugate containg fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00553] VEGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan).VEGF is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 - 165 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00554] The oxidized VEGF is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized VEGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00555] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized VEGF within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00556] The obtained PEG-VEGF conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG-VEGF conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00557] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00558] VEGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). VEGF is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently, the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 p1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00559] Finally, the PEG- VEGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by - 166 measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00560] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. VEGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). VEGF is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently, the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00561] Finally, the PEG-VEGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate conjugate fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00562] VEGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of VEGF is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg VEGF / ml. Subsequently, an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. - 167 - [00563] The PEG-VEGF conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00564] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 35 PEGylation of EGF using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00565] EGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). EGF is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00566] The retentate containing oxidized EGF is next mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00567] Finally, the PEG-EGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 168 - [00568] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. EGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). EGF is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00569] The retentate containing oxidized EGF is next mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00570] Finally, the PEG-EGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containg fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00571] EGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). EGF is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. - 169 - [00572] The oxidized EGF is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized EGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00573] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized NGF within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00574] The obtained PEG- EGF conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG-EGF conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00575] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00576] EGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). EGF is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00577] Finally, the PEG-EGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00578] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. EGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An - 170 example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). EGF is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00579] Finally, the PEG-EGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00580] EGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of EGF is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg EGF / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00581] The PEG-EGF conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00582] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. - 171 - Example 36 PEGylation of NGF using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00583] NGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). NGF is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00584] The retentate containing oxidized NGF is next mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00585] Finally, the PEG-NGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q-Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00586] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. NGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). NGF is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The - 172 mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00587] The retentate containing oxidized NGF is next mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00588] Finally, the PEG-NGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00589] NGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). NGF is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00590] The oxidized NGF is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized NGF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00591] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized NGF within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. - 173 - [00592] The obtained PEG- NGF conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG-NGF conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00593] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00594] NGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). NGF is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00595] Finally, the PEG-NGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00596] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. NGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). NGF is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). - 174 - [00597] Finally, the PEG-NGF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containg fractions are collected and then subjected to UF/DF. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00598] NGF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of NGF is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg NGF / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20- fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00599] The PEG- NGF conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00600] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 37 PEGylation of HGH using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00601] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. - 175 - [00602] HGH is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). HGH is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00603] The retentate containing oxidized HGH is next mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00604] Finally, the PEG- HGH conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00605] In n alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00606] HGH is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). HGH is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing - 176 - Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00607] The retentate containing oxidized HGH is next mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00608] Finally, the PEG-HGH conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (The conjugate containg fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00609] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00610] HGH is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). HGH is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00611] The oxidized HGH is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized HGH containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00612] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized HGH within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) - 177 is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. [00613] The obtained PEG- HGH conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG-NGF conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00614] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00615] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00616] HGH is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright ® CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). HGH is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 k 1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00617] Finally, the PEG-HGH conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00618] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. HGH is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the - 178 - Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). HGH is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 p1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00619] Finally, the PEG-HGH conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containg fractions are collected and then subjected to UF/DF. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00620] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of human growth hormone (HGH) is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, HGH is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00621] HGH is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of HGH is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg HGH / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of a 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00622] The PEG - HGH conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). - 179 - [00623] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 38 PEGylation of TNF-alpha using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00624] TNF-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). TNF-alpha is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00625] The retentate containing oxidized TNF-alpha is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00626] Finally, the PEG-TNF-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q-Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00627] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. TNF-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). TNF-alpha is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched - 180 for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00628] The retentate containing oxidized TNF-alpha is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00629] Finally, the PEG-TNF-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containg fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00630] TNF-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). TNF-alpha is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00631] The oxidized TNF-alpha is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized TNF-alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00632] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized TNF alpha within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture - 181 is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00633] The obtained PEG- TNF-alpha conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG- TNF-alpha conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00634] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00635] TNF-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). TNF-alpha is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 p1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00636] Finally, the PEG-TNF-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00637] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. TNF-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). TNF-alpha is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently, the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at - 182 room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 p1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00638] Finally, the PEG- TNF-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containing fractions are collected and then subjected to UF/DF. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00639] TNF-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of TNF-alpha is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg TNF-alpha / ml. Subsequently, an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20- fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00640] The PEG- TNF-alpha conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00641] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. - 183 - Example 39 PEGylation of insulin using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00642] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. Insulin is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Insulin is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00643] The retentate containing oxidized insulin is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00644] Finally, the PEG-insulin conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q-Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00645] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. Insulin is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Insulin is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, - 184 pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00646] The retentate containing oxidized insulin is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00647] Finally, the PEG-insulin conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containg fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00648] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00649] Insulin is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Insulin is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. - 185 - [00650] The oxidized insulin is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized insulin containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00651] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized insulin within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2 0 C under gentle shaking. [00652] The obtained PEG - insulin conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG - insulin conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00653] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00654] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00655] Insulin is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright ® CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Insulin is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently, the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 k 1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00656] Finally, the PEG-insulin conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to - 186 - UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00657] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. Insulin is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Insulin is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 p1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00658] Finally, the insulin-conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containing fractions are collected and then subjected to UF/DF. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00659] As described herein, the amino acid sequence of insulin is first modified to incorporate at least one glycosylation site. Following purification, insulin is glycosylated in vitro according to methods known in the art. [00660] Insulin is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of insulin is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg insulin / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20- fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room - 187 temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of a 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00661] The PEG - insulin conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00662] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 40 PEGylation of interferon-alpha using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00663] Interferon-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Interferon-alpha is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00664] The retentate containing oxidized interferon-alpha is next mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00665] Finally, the PEG-interferon-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q-Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. - 188 - The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00666] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Interferon-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Interferon-alpha is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00667] The retentate containing oxidized interferon-alpha is next mixed with an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00668] Finally, the PEG-interferon-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography The conjugate containing freactions are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00669] Interferon-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Interferon-alpha is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50 mM Hepes, 350 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 - 189 - M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00670] The oxidized interferon-alpha is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized interferon-alpha containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00671] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized interferon-alpha within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00672] The obtained PEG- interferon-alpha conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG- interferon alpha conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00673] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 3: [00674] Interferon-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Interferon-alpha is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 p1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00675] Finally, the PEG-interferon-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically - 190 characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00676] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Interferon-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Interferon-alpha is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00677] Finally, the PEG-interferon-alpha conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containg fractions are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00678] Interferon-alpha is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of interferon-alpha is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg interferon -alpha / ml. Subsequently, an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00679] The PEG- interferon -alpha conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / - 191 - Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00680] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 41 PEGylation of interferon-gamma using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00681] Interferon-gamma is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). 10 mg Interferon-gamma is dissolved in 5 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 100 P1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 50 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00682] The retentate (approx. 7 ml), containing oxidized interferon-gamma, is mixed with 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at RT in the dark under gentle stirring. [00683] Finally, the PEG-interferon-gamma conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on SP Sepharose FF. The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep SPFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 6.5). Free interferon-gamma is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 6.9 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For - 192 the PEG-interferon-gamma conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native Interferon gamma is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959 77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free Interferon-gamma. Method 2: [00684] Interferon-gamma is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Interferon-gamma is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5 N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 pM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00685] The oxidized interferon-gamma is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized interferon-gamma containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00686] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized interferon-gamma within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00687] The obtained PEG-interferon-gamma conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG-interferon-gamma conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). [00688] The conjugate prepared by use of this procedure are analytically characterized by measuring total protein and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 193 - Method 3: [00689] Interferon-gamma is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). 10 mg interferon-gamma is dissolved in -8 ml histidine - buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 200 P1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) and 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) are then added. Subsequently the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 100 p1 of 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. [00690] Finally the PEG-interferon-gamma conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on SP-Sepharose FF. The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep SP FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre-equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 6.5). Free intergferon-gamma is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 6.9 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according according to methods known in the art. For the PEG-interferon-gamma conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native interferon-gamma is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free interferon-gamma. Method 4: [00691] Interferon-gamma is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of interferon-gamma is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg - 194 interferon-gamma / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00692] The PEG-interferon-gamma conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00693] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 42 PEGylation of G-CSF using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00694] G-CSF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). G-CSF is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00695] The retentate containing oxidized G-CSF is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. - 195 - [00696] Finally, the PEG- G-CSF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q-Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00697] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. G-CSF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). G-CSF is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00698] The retentate containing oxidized G-CSF is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00699] Finally, the PEG- G-CSF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (The conjugate containg fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00700] G-CSF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). G-CSF is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently a 40 mM aqueous sodium - 196 periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00701] The oxidized G-CSF is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized G-CSF containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00702] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized G-CSF within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00703] The obtained PEG- G-CSF conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG- G-CSF conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). Method 3: [00704] G-CSF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). G-CSF is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently, the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 p1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00705] Finally, the PEG- G-CSF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by - 197 measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00706] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. G-CSF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). G-CSF is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently, the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00707] Finally, the PEG- G-CSF conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00708] G-CSF is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of G-CSF is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg G-CSF / ml. Subsequently, an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. - 198 - [00709] The G-CSF conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00710] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 43 PEGylation of Humira using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00711] Humira is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Humira is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00712] The retentate containing oxidized Humira is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00713] Finally, the PEG-Humira conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q-Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. - 199 - [00714] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Humira is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Humira is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4'C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 p1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00715] The retentate containing oxidized Humira is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00716] Finally, the PEG- Humira conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containg fractions of the eluate are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 2: [00717] Humira is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Humira is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. - 200 - [00718] The oxidized Humira is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized Humira containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00719] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized Humira within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00720] The obtained PEG-Humira conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG-Humira conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). Method 3: [00721] Humira is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Humira is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently, the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 p1 of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00722] Finally, the PEG- Humira conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00723] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. Humira is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, - 201 - Japan). Humira is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00724] Finally, the PEG-Humira conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The conjugate containing fractions are collected and then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. Method 4: [00725] Humira is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of HJumira is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg Humira / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20- fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of a 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00726] The Humira conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00727] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. - 202 - Example 44 PEGylation of Prolia using an aminooxy-PEG reagent and m-toluidine as a nucleophilic catalyst Method 1: [00728] Prolia is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright ® CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Prolia is dissolved in 7.0 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20mM L histidine, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2). An aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4 0 C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 7.5 P 1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00729] The retentate containing oxidized Prolia is next mixed with an aqueous m toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD is then added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at room temperature in the dark under gentle stirring. [00730] Finally, the PEG- Prolia conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography (e.g., on Q-Sepharose FF). For example, 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using an appropriate MW cutoff membrane. The preparation is next analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Coomassie, Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00731] In an alternative embodiment, Method 1 is carried out as follows. Prolia is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright ® CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). 10 mg rFIX is dissolved in 5 ml histidine - buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 100 k 1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) is then added and the reaction mixture is incubated for 1 h in the dark at 4 0 C under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 50 k 1 of a 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. The - 203 mixture is subsequently subjected to UF/DF employing Vivaspin 15R 10 kD centrifugal filtrators to remove excess periodate, quencher and the byproducts thereof. [00732] The retentate (approx. 7 ml), containing oxidized Prolia, is mixed with 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) and incubated for 30 min at room temperature. Then aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. This mixture is incubated for 2.5 h at RT in the dark under gentle stirring. [00733] Finally the PEG-Prolia conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on SP Sepharose FF. The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep SP FF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 6.5). Free Prolia is eluted by washing the column with 25 % Buffer B and the conjugate at 50 % Buffer B. The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 6.9 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PEG-Prolia conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native Prolia is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free Prolia. Method 2: [00734] Prolia is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Prolia is transferred or dissolved in reaction buffer (e.g. 50mM Hepes, 350mM sodium chloride, 5mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 1.0 +/- 0.25 mg/ml. Then the pH of the solution is corrected to 6.0 by drop wise addition of a 0.5N aqueous HCl solution. Subsequently, a 40 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 10 minutes to give a concentration of 200 PM. The oxidation reaction is carried out for 30 +/- 5 min at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C. Then the reaction is stopped by addition of an aqueous L-cysteine solution (1 M) within 15 - 204 minutes at T= +22 +/- 2'C to give a final concentration of 10 mM in the reaction mixture and incubation for 60 +/- 5 min. [00735] The oxidized Prolia is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The oxidized Humira containing fractions of the eluate are collected and used for the conjugation reaction. [00736] The aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD reagent is added in a 50-fold molar excess to the eluate containing the purified oxidized Prolia within a maximum time period (t) of 15 minutes under gentle stirring. Then an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) is added within 15 minutes to get a final concentration of 10 mM. The reaction mixture is incubated for 120 +/- 10 min. in the dark at a temperature (T) of T= +22 +/- 2'C under gentle shaking. [00737] The obtained PEG- Prolia conjugate is further purified by ion exchange chromatography. The PEG- Prolia conjugate containing fractions are collected and concentrated by ultra- / diafiltration (UF/DF) using a membrane made of regenerated cellulose with an appropriate molecular weight cut off (Millipore). Method 3: [00738] Prolia is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). EPO is dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) and mixed with an aqueous sodium periodate solution (10 mM), and an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM). Subsequently the aminooxy reagent is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 8 l of aqueous cysteine solution (1 M). [00739] Finally, the PEG- Prolia conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose FF. 1.5 mg protein/ml gel is loaded on the column pre equilibrated with 50 mM Hepes buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 mM CaCl2. The conjugate is eluted with 50 mM Hepes buffer containing 5 mM CaCl2 and 500 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4 and is then subjected to UF/DF using a membrane. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. [00740] In an alternative embodiment, Method 3 is carried out as follows. - 205 - [00741] Prolia is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). 10 mg Prolia is dissolved in -8 ml histidine buffer, pH 6.0 (20 mM L-histidine, 150 mM NaCl). 200 p1 of an aqueous sodium periodate solution (5 mM) and 2 ml of an aqueous m-toluidine solution (50 mM) are then added. Subsequently, the aminooxy-PEG reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 5-fold molar reagent excess. The mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of 100 P1 of 1 M aqueous cysteine solution. [00742] Finally the PEG-Prolia conjugate is purified by ion-exchange chromatography on SP-Sepharose FF. The reaction mixture is diluted with 20 ml Buffer A (50 mM Hepes, pH 6.5) and loaded onto a 20 ml HiPrep SPFF 16/10 column (GE Healthcare, Fairfield, CT) pre equilibrated with Buffer A. Then the column is eluted with Buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 1 M NaCl, pH 6.5). Free Prolia is eluted by washing the column with 25% Buffer B and the conjugate at 50% Buffer B. The conjugate containing fractions are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against histidine buffer, pH 6.9 containing 150 mM NaCl. The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford) and biological activity according to methods known in the art. For the PEG-Prolia conjugate a specific activity of > 50 % in comparison to native Prolia is determined. The conjugate is additionally analytically characterized by Size Exclusion HPLC using a Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a Shodex KW 803 column under conditions as previously described (Kolarich et al, Transfusion 2006;46:1959-77). It is shown that the preparation contains no free Prolia. Method 4: [00743] Prolia is PEGylated by use of a linear 20 kD PEGylation reagent containing an aminooxy group. An example of this type of reagent is the Sunbright @ CA series from NOF (NOF Corp., Tokyo, Japan). An intital concentration or weight of HJumira is transferred or dissolved in Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 150 mM sodium chloride, 5 mM calcium chloride, pH 6.0) to get a final protein concentration of 2 mg Prolia / ml. Subsequently an 5 mM aqueous sodium periodate solution is added within 15 minutes to give a final concentration of 100 pM, followed by addition of an 50 mM aqueous m-toluidine solution to get a final concentration of 10 mM within a time period of 30 minutes. Then the aminooxy-PEG - 206 reagent with a MW of 20 kD (described above) is added to give a 20-fold molar reagent excess. After correction of the pH to 6.0 the mixture is incubated for 2 h in the dark at room temperature under gentle stirring and quenched for 15 min at room temperature by the addition of an 1 M aqueous L-cysteine solution to give a final concentration of 10 mM. [00744] The Prolia conjugate is purified by means of ion exchange chromatography (IEC). The conjugate containing fractions of the eluate are concentrated by UF/DF using a 10 kD membrane made of regenerated cellulose (88 cm2, cut-off 10 kD / Millipore). The final diafiltration step is performed against Hepes buffer (50 mM Hepes, 5 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5). [00745] The preparation is analytically characterized by measuring total protein (Bradford and BCA procedure) and biological activity according to known methods. Example 45 PEGylation of a therapeutic protein using branched PEG [00746] PEGylation of a therapeutic protein of the invention may be extended to a branched or linear PEGylation reagent, which is made of an aldehyde and a suitable linker containing an active aminooxy group. [00747] The term "comprise" and variants of the term such as "comprises" or "comprising" are used herein to denote the inclusion of a stated integer or stated integers but not to exclude any other integer or any other integers, unless in the context or usage an exclusive interpretation of the term is required. [00748] Any reference to publications cited in this specification is not an admission that the disclosures constitute common general knowledge in Australia. - 207 -

Claims (71)

1. A method of conjugating a water soluble polymer to an oxidized carbohydrate moiety of a therapeutic protein comprising contacting the oxidized carbohydrate moiety with an activated water soluble polymer under conditions that allow conjugation; said water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group and is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); and said carbohydrate moiety oxidized by incubation with a buffer comprising an oxidizing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO 4 ), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc) 4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); wherein an oxime linkage is formed between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety and the active aminooxy group on the water soluble polymer; and wherein said oxime linkage formation is catalyzed by a nucleophilic catalyst selected from the group consisting of o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o-aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p-anisidine. - 208 -

2. A method of conjugating a water soluble polymer to an oxidized carbohydrate moiety of a therapeutic protein comprising contacting the oxidized carbohydrate moiety with an activated water soluble polymer under conditions that allow conjugation; said therapeutic protein selected from the group consisting of Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XI (FXI), Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, tPA, PAI-i, tissue factor (TF),ADAMTS 13 protease, IL-I alpha, IL-I beta, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-11, colony stimulating factor-I (CSF-1), M-CSF, SCF, GM-CSF, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), EPO, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), consensus interferon, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, IFN-omega, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-14, IL-15, IL 16, IL-17, IL-18, IL-19, IL-20, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-24, IL-31, IL-32 alpha, IL-33, thrombopoietin (TPO), Ang-1, Ang-2, Ang-4, Ang-Y, angiopoietin-like polypeptide 1 (ANGPTL1), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 2 (ANGPTL2), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 3 (ANGPTL3), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 4 (ANGPTL4), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 5 (ANGPTL5), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 6 (ANGPTL6), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 7 (ANGPTL7), vitronectin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin, activin A, activin B, activin C, bone morphogenic protein-1, bone morphogenic protein-2, bone morphogenic protein-3, bone morphogenic protein-4, bone morphogenic protein-5, bone morphogenic protein-6, bone morphogenic protein-7, bone morphogenic protein-8, bone morphogenic protein-9, bone morphogenic protein-10, bone morphogenic protein- 11, bone morphogenic protein-12, bone morphogenic protein-13, bone morphogenic protein-14, bone morphogenic protein-15, bone morphogenic protein receptor IA, bone morphogenic protein receptor IB, bone morphogenic protein receptor II, brain derived neurotrophic factor, cardiotrophin- 1, ciliary neutrophic factor, ciliary neutrophic factor receptor, cripto, cryptic, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 1, cytokine-induced neutrophil, chemotactic factor 2a, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 2, 0 endothelial cell growth factor, endothelin 1, epidermal growth factor, epigen, epiregulin, epithelial-derived neutrophil attractant, fibroblast growth factor 4, fibroblast growth factor 5, fibroblast growth factor 6, fibroblast growth factor 7, fibroblast growth factor 8, fibroblast growth factor 8b, fibroblast growth factor 8c, fibroblast growth factor 9, fibroblast growth factor 10, fibroblast growth factor 11, fibroblast growth factor 12, fibroblast growth factor 13, fibroblast growth factor 16, fibroblast growth factor 17, fibroblast growth factor 19, fibroblast growth factor 20, fibroblast growth factor 21, fibroblast growth factor acidic, fibroblast growth factor basic, glial cell - 209 - line-derived neutrophic factor receptor al, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor a2, growth related protein, growth related protein a, growth related protein 3, growth related protein y, heparin binding epidermal growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor receptor, hepatoma-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor I, insulin like growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor II, insulin-like growth factor binding protein, keratinocyte growth factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor a, nerve growth factor nerve growth factor receptor, neuropoietin,neurotrophin-3, neurotrophin-4, oncostatin M (OSM), placenta growth factor, placenta growth factor 2, platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, platelet derived growth factor A chain, platelet derived growth factor AA, platelet derived growth factor AB, platelet derived growth factor B chain, platelet derived growth factor BB, platelet derived growth factor receptor a, platelet derived growth factor receptor 3, pre-B cell growth stimulating factor, stem cell factor (SCF), stem cell factor receptor, TNF, TNFO, TNF1, TNF2, transforming growth factor a, transforming growth factor 3, transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 01.2, transforming growth factor 32, transforming growth factor 33, transforming growth factor 35, latent transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein I, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein II, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein III, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), tumor necrosis factor receptor type I, tumor necrosis factor receptor type II, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, phospholipase-activating protein (PUP), insulin, lectin ricin, prolactin, chorionic gonadotropin, follicle- stimulating hormone, thyroid- stimulating hormone, tissue plasminogen activator, IgG, IgE, IgM, IgA, and IgD, a-galactosidase, 0 galactosidase, DNAse, fetuin, leutinizing hormone, estrogen, insulin, albumin, lipoproteins, fetoprotein, transferrin, thrombopoietin, urokinase, integrin, thrombin, leptin, Humira (adalimumab), Prolia (denosumab), Enbrel (etanercept), a protein in Table 1, or a biologically active fragment, derivative or variant thereof; said water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group and is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol - 210 - (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(l hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); and said carbohydrate moiety oxidized by incubation with a buffer comprising an oxidizing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO 4 ), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc) 4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); wherein an oxime linkage is formed between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety and the active aminooxy group on the water soluble polymer; and wherein in said oxime linkage formation is catalyzed by a nucleophilic catalyst selected from the group consisting of o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o-aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p-anisidine.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein a solution comprising an initial concentration of the therapeutic protein between about 0.3 mg/ml and about 3.0 mg/ml is adjusted to a pH value between about 5.0 and about 8.0 prior to contacting with the activated water soluble polymer.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the initial concentration of the therapeutic protein is about 1.0 mg/ml and the pH is about 6.0.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the therapeutic protein is contacted by a desired excess concentration of activated water soluble polymer, wherein the excess concentration is between about 1-molar and about 300-molar excess.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the excess concentration is about 50 fold molar excess. -211 -

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the therapeutic protein is incubated with the activated water soluble polymer under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.5 hours and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the conditions comprise a time period of about 120 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light; and with stirring.

9. The method according to claim 2 wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is added in an amount to result in a final concentration between about 1.0 mM and about 50 mM nucleophilic catalyst, under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.1 minutes and about 30 minutes; a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the final concentration of the nucleophilic catalyst is about 10 mM, and the conditions comprise a time period of up to about 15 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light; and with stirring.

11. The method according to claim 2 wherein the oxidizing agent is added in an amount to result in a final concentration between about 50 PM and about 1000 PM oxidizing agent, under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.1 minutes and 120 minutes; a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the final concentration of oxidizing agent is about 400 pM, and the conditions comprise a time period of about 10 minutes, a temperature of about 22 C, the absence of light and with stirring. - 212 -

13. The method of claim 2 wherein the conjugating the water soluble polymer to the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein is stopped by the addition of a quenching agent selected from the group consisting of L-cysteine, methionine, glutathione, glycerol, sodium meta bisulfite (Na 2 S 2 0 5 ), tryptophane, tyrosine, histidine or derivatives thereof, kresol, imidazol, and combinations thereof; wherein the quenching agent is added in an amount to result in a final concentration between about 1 mM and about 100 mM quenching agent, under conditions comprising a time period between about 5 minutes and about 120 minutes; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the quenching agent is L-cysteine.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the L-cysteine is added to result in a final concentration of about 10 mM and the conditions comprise a time period ofabout 60 minutes, a temperature of about 22 0 C, the absence of light and with stirring.

16. The method of claim 2 comprising: a) a first step comprising adjusting the pH value of a solution comprising the therapeutic protein to a pH value betweenabout 5.0 and about 8.0, wherein the therapeutic protein concentration is between about 0.3 mg/ml and about 3.0 mg/ml; b) a second step comprising oxidizing one or more carbohydrates on the therapeutic protein, wherein the oxidizing agent is added to the solution in the first step to result in a final concentration between about 50pM and about 1000 M, under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.1 minutes and about 120 minutes; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; c) a third step comprising contacting the therapeutic protein with a desired excess concentration of activated water soluble polymer, wherein the excess concentration is between about 1-molar excess and about 300-molar excess, under conditions comprising a - 213 - time period between about 0.5 hours and about 24 hours, a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; d) a fourth step comprising adding a nucleophilic catalyst to the solution of the third step, wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is added to result in a final concentration between about 1 mM and about 50 mM, under conditions comprising a time period between about 0.1 minutes and about 30 minutes; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; e) a fifth step wherein the therapeutic protein is incubated with the activated water soluble polymer and nucleophilic catalyst under conditions that allow conjugation of the activated water-soluble polymer to one or more oxidized carbohydrates on the therapeutic protein, said conditions comprising a time period between about 0.5 hours and about 24 hours, a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; and f) a sixth step wherein the conjugating the water soluble polymer to the one or more oxidized carbohydrates of the therapeutic protein in the fifth step is stopped by the addition of a quenching agent selected from the group consisting of L-cysteine, methionine, glutathione, glycerol, Na 2 S 2 0 5 (sodium meta bisulfite), tryptophane, tyrosine, histidine or derivatives thereof, kresol, imidazol, and combinations thereof; wherein the quenching agent is added to result in a final concentration of about 1 mM and about 100 mM, under conditions comprising a time period between about 5 minutes and about 120 minutes; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the initial concentration of the therapeutic protein in the first step is about 1 mg/ml and the pH is about 6.0; wherein the final concentration of oxidizing agent in the second step is about 400 pM, and the conditions in the fifth step comprise a time period of about 10 minutes, a temperature of about 22 0 C, the absence of light and with stirring; wherein the excess concentration in the third step is about 50 molar excess; wherein the conditions in the third step comprise a time period of about 15 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light and with stirring; - 214 - wherein the final concentration of the nucleophilic catalyst in the fourth step is about 10 mM, and the conditions in the fourth step comprise a time period of about 15 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light and with stirring; wherein the conditions of incubating the therapeutic protein with the activated water soluble polymer and nucleophilic catalyst in the fifth step comprise a time period of about 2 hours; a temperature of about 22 0 C; the absence of light; and with stirring; and wherein the quenching agent in the sixth step is L-cysteine; and wherein the L cysteine is added to result in a final concentration of about 10 mM and the conditions in the sixth step comprise a time period of about 60 minutes, a temperature of about 22 'C, the absence of light and with stirring.

18. The method according to claim 2 wherein the water soluble polymer is PSA.

19. The method according to claim 2 wherein the water soluble polymer is PEG.

20. The method according to claim 2 wherein the water soluble polymer is HES.

21. The method according to claim 2 wherein the water soluble polymer is HAS.

22. The method according to claim 18 wherein the PSA is comprised of about 10 - 300 sialic acid units.

23. The method according to any one of claims 2-22 wherein the therapeutic protein is FIX. - 215 -

24. The method according to any one of claims 2-22 wherein the therapeutic protein is FVIla.

25. The method according to any one of claims 2-22 wherein the therapeutic protein is FVIII.

26. The method according to any one of claims 2-25 wherein the oxidizing agent is sodium periodate (NaIO 4 ).

27. The method according to any one of claims 23-25 wherein the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein is located in the activation peptide of the blood coagulation protein.

28. The method according to claim 18 wherein the PSA is prepared by reacting an activated aminooxy linker with oxidized PSA; wherein the aminooxy linker is selected from the group consisting of: a) a 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine linker of the formula: b) a 3,6,9-trioxa-undecane-1,11-dioxyamine linker of the formula: H 2 N_ N NH 2 and c) a 3,6,9,12,15-penatoxa-heptadecane- 1,17-dioxyamine linker of the formula: H 2 N H 2 wherein the PSA is oxidized by incubation with a oxidizing agent to form a terminal aldehyde group at the non-reducing end of the PSA. - 216 -

29. The method according to claim 28 wherein the aminooxy linker is 3 oxa-pentane- 1,5-dioxyamine.

30. The method according to any one of claims 1--29 wherein the oxidizing agent is NaIO 4 .

31. The method according to any one of claims 1-30 wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is provided at a concentration between about 1 mM and about 50 mM.

32. The method according to claim 31 wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is m-toluidine.

33. The method according to claim 32 wherein the m-toluidine is present in the conjugation reaction at a concentration of about 10 mM.

34. The method according to any one of claims 1-33 further comprising the step of reducing an oxime linkage in the conjugated therapeutic protein by incubating the conjugated therapeutic protein in a buffer comprising a reducing compound selected from the group consisting of sodium cyanoborohydride (NaCNBH 3 ), ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and NaBH 3 .

35. The method according to claim 34 wherein the reducing compound is sodium cyanoborohydride (NaCNBH 3 ).

36. The method according to any one of claims 1-35 further comprising the step of purifying the conjugated therapeutic protein. - 217 -

37. The method according to claim 36 wherein the conjugated therapeutic protein is purified by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation.

38. The method according to claim 37 wherein the chromatography is selected from the group consisting of Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC), Ion Exchange chromatography (IEC), Size exclusion chromatography (SEC), Affinity chromatography, and Reversed-phase chromatography.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein an anti-chaotropic salt is used in a chromotagraphy loading step and in a chromatography washing step.

40. The method of claim 38 wherein the chromatography takes place in a column.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the column comprises a chromatography resin selected from the group consisting of Phenyl-Sepharose FF and Butyl Sepharose FF.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the resin is present in the column at a bed height of between about 5 cm and about 20 cm.

43. The method according to claim 42 wherein the bed height is about 10 cm.

44. The method of claim 40 comprising one or more washing steps wherein flow direction is set to up-flow and wherein the flow rate is between about 0.2 cm/min and about 6.7 cm/min. -218 -

45. The method according to claim 44 wherein the flow rate is about 2 cm/min.

46. The method of any one of claims 40-45comprising one or more elution steps wherein flow direction is set to down-flow and wherein the flow rate is between about 0.1 cm/min and about 6.7 cm/min.

47. The method according to claim 46 wherein the flow rate is about 1 cm/min.

48. The method of any one of claims 36-47 further comprising concentrating the conjugated therapeutic protein by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF).

49. The method of any one of claims 36-48 wherein the final concentration of therapeutic protein is between about 0.5 and about 3 mg/ml.

50. The method according to any one of claims 36-49 wherein the therapeutic protein comprises between about 5 and about 11 water soluble polymer moieties.

51. The method of claim 2 wherein the conjugated therapeutic protein is purified using chromatography; wherein an anti-chaotropic salt is used for a loading step and for a washing step; the method comprising one or more washing steps wherein flow direction is set to up-flow and wherein the flow rate is between about 0.2 cm/min and about 6.7 cm/min and one or more elution steps wherein flow direction is set to down-flow and wherein the flow rate is between about 0.2 cm/min andabout 6.7 cm/min; further comprising concentrating the conjugated therapeutic protein by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF). - 219 -

52. The method of claim 51 wherein the chromatography is hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC); wherein the one or more washing steps flow rate is about 2 cm/min; and wherein the one or more elution steps flow rate is about 1 cm/min.

53. A modified therapeutic protein produced by the method according to any one of claims 1-52.

54. A method of forming an oxime linkage between an oxidized carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein and an activated water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group comprising the steps of: a) oxidizing a carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein by incubating said protein with an oxidizing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO 4 ), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc) 4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); and b) forming an oxime linkage between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein and the activated water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group in the presence of a nuclephilic catalyst under conditions allowing formation of said oxime linkage; wherein said water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is selected from the group consisting polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o - 220 - aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p anisidine.

55. A method of forming an oxime linkage between an oxidized carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein and an activated water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group comprising the steps of: a) oxidizing a carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein by incubating said protein with an oxidinzing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO 4 ), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc) 4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); and b) forming an oxime linkage between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein and the activated water soluble polymer containing an an active aminooxy group in the presence of a nuclephilic catalyst under conditions allowing formation of said oxime linkage; wherein the therapeutic protein is selected from the group consisting of Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XI (FXI), Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, tPA, PAI-i, tissue factor (TF),ADAMTS 13 protease, IL-I alpha, IL-I beta, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-11, colony stimulating factor-I (CSF-1), M-CSF, SCF, GM-CSF, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), EPO, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), consensus interferon, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, IFN-omega, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12, IL 13, IL-14, IL-15, IL-16, IL-17, IL-18, IL-19, IL-20, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-24, IL-31, IL-32 alpha, IL-33, thrombopoietin (TPO), Ang-1, Ang-2, Ang-4, Ang-Y, angiopoietin-like polypeptide 1 (ANGPTL 1), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 2 (ANGPTL2), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 3 (ANGPTL3), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 4 (ANGPTL4), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 5 (ANGPTL5), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 6 (ANGPTL6), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 7 (ANGPTL7), vitronectin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin, activin A, activin B, activin C, bone morphogenic protein-1, bone morphogenic protein-2, bone morphogenic protein-3, bone morphogenic protein-4, bone morphogenic protein-5, bone morphogenic protein-6, bone morphogenic protein-7, bone morphogenic protein-8, bone morphogenic protein-9, bone morphogenic protein-10, bone morphogenic protein- 11, bone morphogenic protein-12, bone morphogenic protein-13, bone morphogenic protein-14, bone morphogenic protein-15, bone morphogenic protein receptor IA, bone - 221 - morphogenic protein receptor IB, bone morphogenic protein receptor II, brain derived neurotrophic factor, cardiotrophin- 1, ciliary neutrophic factor, ciliary neutrophic factor receptor, cripto, cryptic, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 1, cytokine-induced neutrophil, chemotactic factor 2a, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 23, endothelial cell growth factor, endothelin 1, epidermal growth factor, epigen, epiregulin, epithelial-derived neutrophil attractant, fibroblast growth factor 4, fibroblast growth factor 5, fibroblast growth factor 6, fibroblast growth factor 7, fibroblast growth factor 8, fibroblast growth factor 8b, fibroblast growth factor 8c, fibroblast growth factor 9, fibroblast growth factor 10, fibroblast growth factor 11, fibroblast growth factor 12, fibroblast growth factor 13, fibroblast growth factor 16, fibroblast growth factor 17, fibroblast growth factor 19, fibroblast growth factor 20, fibroblast growth factor 21, fibroblast growth factor acidic, fibroblast growth factor basic, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor al, glial cell line derived neutrophic factor receptor a2, growth related protein, growth related protein a, growth related protein 3, growth related protein y, heparin binding epidermal growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor receptor, hepatoma-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor I, insulin-like growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor II, insulin-like growth factor binding protein, keratinocyte growth factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor a, nerve growth factor nerve growth factor receptor, neuropoietin,neurotrophin-3, neurotrophin-4, oncostatin M (OSM), placenta growth factor, placenta growth factor 2, platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, platelet derived growth factor A chain, platelet derived growth factor AA, platelet derived growth factor AB, platelet derived growth factor B chain, platelet derived growth factor BB, platelet derived growth factor receptor a, platelet derived growth factor receptor 3, pre-B cell growth stimulating factor, stem cell factor (SCF), stem cell factor receptor, TNF, TNFO, TNF 1, TNF2, transforming growth factor a, transforming growth factor 3, transforming growth factor 0 1, transforming growth factor 0 1.2, transforming growth factor 32, transforming growth factor 33, transforming growth factor J5, latent transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein I, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein II, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein III, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), tumor necrosis factor receptor type I, tumor necrosis factor receptor type II, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, phospholipase-activating protein (PUP), insulin, lectin ricin, prolactin, chorionic gonadotropin, follicle- stimulating hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, tissue plasminogen activator, IgG, IgE, IgM, IgA, and IgD, a-galactosidase, -galactosidase, DNAse, fetuin, leutinizing hormone, estrogen, - 222 - insulin, albumin, lipoproteins, fetoprotein, transferrin, thrombopoietin, urokinase, integrin, thrombin, leptin, Humira (adalimumab), Prolia (denosumab), Enbrel (etanercept), a protein from Table 1, or a biologically active fragment, derivative or variant thereof; wherein said water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p anisidine.

56. A method of forming a hydrazone linkage between an oxidized carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein and an activated water soluble polymer containing an active hydrazide group comprising the steps of: a) oxidizing a carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein by incubating said protein with an oxidinzing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO 4 ), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc) 4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); and b) forming a hydrazone linkage between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein and the activated water soluble polymer containing an an active hydrazide group in the presence of a nuclephilic catalyst under conditions allowing formation of said hydrazone linkage; wherein said water soluble polymer containing an active hydrazide group is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl - 223 - starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p anisidine.

57. A method of forming a hydrazone linkage between an oxidized carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein and an activated water soluble polymer containing an active hydrazide group comprising the steps of: a) oxidizing a carbohydrate moiety on a therapeutic protein by incubating said protein with an oxidinzing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium periodate (NaIO 4 ), lead tetraacetate (Pb(OAc) 4 ) and potassium perruthenate (KRuO4); and b) forming a hydrazone linkage between the oxidized carbohydrate moiety of the therapeutic protein and the activated water soluble polymer containing an an active hydrazide group in the presence of a nuclephilic catalyst under conditions allowing formation of said hydrazone linkage; wherein the therapeutic protein is selected from the group consisting of Factor IX (FIX), Factor VIII (FVIII), Factor VIIa (FVIIa), Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), Factor FV (FV), Factor X (FX), Factor XI (FXI), Factor XII (FXII), thrombin (FII), protein C, protein S, tPA, PAI-I, tissue factor (TF),ADAMTS 13 protease, IL-I alpha, IL-I beta, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-11, colony stimulating factor-I (CSF-1), M-CSF, SCF, GM-CSF, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), EPO, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), consensus interferon, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, IFN-omega, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12, IL 13, IL-14, IL-15, IL-16, IL-17, IL-18, IL-19, IL-20, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-24, IL-31, IL-32 alpha, IL-33, thrombopoietin (TPO), Ang-1, Ang-2, Ang-4, Ang-Y, angiopoietin-like - 224 - polypeptide 1 (ANGPTL 1), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 2 (ANGPTL2), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 3 (ANGPTL3), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 4 (ANGPTL4), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 5 (ANGPTL5), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 6 (ANGPTL6), angiopoietin-like polypeptide 7 (ANGPTL7), vitronectin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin, activin A, activin B, activin C, bone morphogenic protein-1, bone morphogenic protein-2, bone morphogenic protein-3, bone morphogenic protein-4, bone morphogenic protein-5, bone morphogenic protein-6, bone morphogenic protein-7, bone morphogenic protein-8, bone morphogenic protein-9, bone morphogenic protein-10, bone morphogenic protein-11, bone morphogenic protein-12, bone morphogenic protein-13, bone morphogenic protein-14, bone morphogenic protein-15, bone morphogenic protein receptor IA, bone morphogenic protein receptor IB, bone morphogenic protein receptor II, brain derived neurotrophic factor, cardiotrophin- 1, ciliary neutrophic factor, ciliary neutrophic factor receptor, cripto, cryptic, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 1, cytokine-induced neutrophil, chemotactic factor 2a, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemotactic factor 23, endothelial cell growth factor, endothelin 1, epidermal growth factor, epigen, epiregulin, epithelial-derived neutrophil attractant, fibroblast growth factor 4, fibroblast growth factor 5, fibroblast growth factor 6, fibroblast growth factor 7, fibroblast growth factor 8, fibroblast growth factor 8b, fibroblast growth factor 8c, fibroblast growth factor 9, fibroblast growth factor 10, fibroblast growth factor 11, fibroblast growth factor 12, fibroblast growth factor 13, fibroblast growth factor 16, fibroblast growth factor 17, fibroblast growth factor 19, fibroblast growth factor 20, fibroblast growth factor 21, fibroblast growth factor acidic, fibroblast growth factor basic, glial cell line-derived neutrophic factor receptor al, glial cell line derived neutrophic factor receptor a2, growth related protein, growth related protein a, growth related protein 3, growth related protein y, heparin binding epidermal growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor receptor, hepatoma-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor I, insulin-like growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor II, insulin-like growth factor binding protein, keratinocyte growth factor, leukemia inhibitory factor, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor a, nerve growth factor nerve growth factor receptor, neuropoietin,neurotrophin-3, neurotrophin-4, oncostatin M (OSM), placenta growth factor, placenta growth factor 2, platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, platelet derived growth factor A chain, platelet derived growth factor AA, platelet derived growth factor AB, platelet derived growth factor B chain, platelet derived growth factor BB, platelet derived growth factor receptor a, platelet derived growth factor receptor 3, pre-B cell growth stimulating factor, stem cell factor (SCF), stem cell factor - 225 - receptor, TNF, TNFO, TNF 1, TNF2, transforming growth factor a, transforming growth factor 3, transforming growth factor 0 1, transforming growth factor 0 1.2, transforming growth factor 32, transforming growth factor 33, transforming growth factor 35, latent transforming growth factor 01, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein I, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein II, transforming growth factor 0 binding protein III, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), tumor necrosis factor receptor type I, tumor necrosis factor receptor type II, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, phospholipase-activating protein (PUP), insulin, lectin ricin, prolactin, chorionic gonadotropin, follicle- stimulating hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, tissue plasminogen activator, IgG, IgE, IgM, IgA, and IgD, a-galactosidase, P-galactosidase, DNAse, fetuin, leutinizing hormone, estrogen, insulin, albumin, lipoproteins, fetoprotein, transferrin, thrombopoietin, urokinase, integrin, thrombin, leptin, Humira (adalimumab), Prolia (denosumab), Enbrel (etanercept), a protein from Table 1, or a biologically active fragment, derivative or variant thereof; wherein said water soluble polymer containing an active hydrazide group is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC); wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m-toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p anisidine. - 226 -

58. The method according to any one of claims 1-52 wherein the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is prepared by a method comprising: a) incubating a solution comprising an oxidized water-soluble polymer with an activated aminooxy linker comprising an active aminooxy group under conditions that allow the formation of a stable oxime linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker, said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; thereby forming a water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group; and b) purifying the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation.

59. The method according to any one of claims 1-52 wherein the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is prepared by a method comprising: a) incubating a solution comprising an oxidized water-soluble polymer with an activated aminooxy linker comprising an active aminooxy group under conditions that allow the formation of a stable oxime linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker, said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; thereby forming a water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group; b) incubating a solution comprising the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group of step a) with a reducing agent under conditions that allow the formation of a stable alkoxamine linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker., said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; and c) purifying the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation. - 227 -

60. The method according to any one of claims 1-52 wherein the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is prepared by a method comprising: a) incubating a solution comprising an oxidized water-soluble polymer with an activated aminooxy linker comprising an active aminooxy group under conditions that allow the formation of a stable oxime linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker, said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; thereby forming a water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group; b) incubating a solution comprising the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group of step a) with a nucleophilic catalyst under conditions comprising a time period between 1 minute and 24 hours; a temperature between 2 0 C and 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; and c) purifying the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation.

61. The method according to any one of claims 1-52 wherein the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group is prepared by a method comprising: a) incubating a solution comprising an oxidized water-soluble polymer with an activated aminooxy linker comprising an active aminooxy group under conditions that allow the formation of a stable oxime linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker, said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2 0 C and about 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light, and with or without stirring; thereby forming a water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group; b) incubating a solution comprising the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group of step a) with a nucleophilic catalyst under conditions comprising a time period between 1 minute and 24 hours; a temperature between 2 0 C and 37 0 C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; - 228 - c) incubating a solution comprising the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group of step b) with a reducing agent under conditions that allow the formation of a stable alkoxamine linkage between the oxidized water-soluble polymer and the activated aminooxy linker., said conditions comprising a time period between about 1 minute and about 24 hours; a temperature between about 2'C and about 37'C; in the presence or absence of light; and with or without stirring; and d) purifying the water soluble polymer containing an active aminooxy group by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration and precipitation.

62. The method according to any one of claims 58-61 wherein the oxidized water soluble polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), branched PEG, PolyPEG@ (Warwick Effect Polymers; Coventry, UK), polysialic acid (PSA ), starch, hydroxyalkyl starch (HAS), hydroxylethyl starch (HES), carbohydrate, polysaccharides, pullulane, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, starch, dextran, carboxymethyl-dextran, polyalkylene oxide (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polyoxazoline, polyacryloylmorpholine, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycarboxylate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyphosphazene, polyoxazoline, polyethylene-co-maleic acid anhydride, polystyrene-co-maleic acid anhydride, poly(1 hydroxymethylethylene hydroxymethylformal) (PHF), 2-methacryloyloxy-2' ethyltrimethylammoniumphosphate (MPC), and wherein said water-soluble polymer is oxidized by incubation with a oxidizing agent to form a terminal aldehyde group at the non reducing end of the water-soluble polymer.

63. The method according to claim 62 wherein the water-soluble polymer is PSA.

64. The method according to claim 62 wherein the oxidizing agent is NaIO 4 . - 229 -

65. The method according to any one of claims 58-64 wherein the aminooxy linker is selected from the group consisting of: a) a 3-oxa-pentane-1,5-dioxyamine linker of the formula: H 2 0 -I, fxN 0 NH 2 b) a 3,6,9-trioxa-undecane-1,11-dioxyamine linker of the formula: H 2 N,- 0 and c) a 3,6,9,12,15-penatoxa-heptadecane- 1,17-dioxyamine linker of the formula: H 2 N H 2

66. The method according to any one of claims 59 and 61 wherein the reducing agent is selected from the group consisting of sodium cyanoborohydride (NaCNBH 3 ), ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and NaBH 3 .

67. The method according to claim 66 wherein the reducing agent is sodium cyanoborohydride (NaCNBH 3 ).

68. The method according toany one of claims 60 and 61 wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is selected from the group consisting of o-amino benzoic acid, m-amino benzoic acid, p-amino benzoic acid, sulfanilic acid, o-aminobenzamide, o-toluidine, m toluidine, p-toluidine, o-anisidine, m-anisidine, and p-anisidine.

69. The method according to claim 68 wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is m-toluidine. - 230 -

70. The method according to any one of claims 68-69 wherein the nucleophilic catalyst is added in an amount to result in a final concentration between about 1.0 mM and about 50 mM nucleophilic catalyst.

71. The method according to any one of claims 58-70 further comprising concentrating the conjugated therapeutic protein by ultra-/diafiltration (UF/DF). -231 -