MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are monovalent antibodies, produced artificially from a single B-lymphocyte clone. They have a higher specificity binding to the same epitope. The mAbs era started in 1975 with the monoclonal antibody technique. This field is rapidly growing, around 60 therapeutic monoclonal antibodies being now available on the market for organ transplantation or to treat several diseases. Over the years, the technological developments and improvements have generated chimeric, humanized and human mAbs. Reopro (Abciximab) was approved in 1994 as the first chimeric mAb for the prevention of blood clots, Zenapax (Daclizumab) was approved in 1997 as the first humanized mAb to diminish kidney transplant rejection, Humira (Adalimumab) was approved as the first human mAb obtained through phage display library in 2002 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and Vectibix (Panitumumab) was approved as the first human mAb obtained through transgenic mouse technology in 2006 for the treatment of colorectal cancer. The present commercial success of mAbs is due to the new technological achievement which allowed lower administration costs, greater clinical efficacy and lower side effects. A series of fundamental technologies enabled the development of monoclonal antibodies derivatives such as: antibody fragments, bispecific antibodies, antibody drug conjugates, fusion proteins. All the technological and scientific acquisitions over the last years have made mAbs available to an ever-increasing number of patients for whom the quality of lives has improved.