Therapeutic Human Monoclonal Antibodies

Abstract

AbstractSince the discovery of obtaining mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) in 1975 by somatic cell hybridization, there have been rapid developments to use antibodies as therapeutics. To minimize human anti-murine antibody immune response, initially mouse-human chimeric antibodies (constant region of mouse MAb replaced with human antibody) have been developed. Subsequently using recombinant DNA technologies, humanized antibodies wherein only the complementarity-determining regions of the mouse MAb have been grafted onto the human antibody backbone followed by the development of fully human MAbs from phage-display technology, humanized mouse, or single-B cell polymerase chain reaction from immunized/infected human subjects have also been generated. Based on clinical applications, various formats of human antibodies such as single-chain variable fragment (scFv), bispecific antibody, antibody-drug conjugate, fragment antigen-binding (Fab), etc. have been developed. As of 2018, 64 antibodies have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for clinical use. The majority of these antibodies are used for the treatment of cancers, transplant rejection, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, viral infections, macular degeneration, anthrax, etc. In future, it is anticipated that therapeutic antibodies will be developed against other diseases and their use increases substantially and will constitute as one of the major portfolios of the pharmaceutical/biotech industries.KeywordsMouse monoclonal antibodyChimeric antibodyHumanized antibodyHuman antibodyTherapeutic applications of monoclonal antibody