Monoclonal Antibody News and Research

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Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) are produced from a single B cell clone and can bind to a single type of antigen binding site. MAbs are homogenous antibodies that cannot form lattices with monomeric proteins as they can bind to only a single epitope on the antigen. Developed in the 1970s, MAbs can be produced against any given substance. Thus they can be used to detect and purify any substance of interest. This has made MAbs a powerful tool of molecular biology, biochemistry, and medicine.

Potential new target for acute myeloid leukemia

Dr. John Dick, Senior Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, the research arm of Princess Margaret Hospital, co-led a multinational team that has developed the first leukemia therapy that targets a protein, CD123, on the surface of cancer stem cells that drive acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is an aggressive disease with a poor outcome.

6 Jul 2009

Research looks at relationship between bone density and erosion in arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common form of inflammatory arthritis, affects almost three percent of people over age 65. RA patients experience pain, functional limitations and two forms of disabling bone disease: focal erosions and osteoporosis.

1 Jun 2009

Experimental therapy uses immune system to boost cure rate in neuroblastoma

A multicenter research team has announced encouraging results for an experimental therapy using elements of the body's immune system to improve cure rates for children with neuroblastoma, a challenging cancer of the nervous system.

27 May 2009

Rituximab linked to viral brain infection

The 57-year-old lawyer in New York had handily completed the New York Times' Saturday crossword puzzle - the hardest of the week - for years. But one Saturday morning, suddenly he couldn't retrieve the words to fill in the squares.

18 May 2009

Oxford BioTherapeutics and GSK form alliance to develop cancer therapeutic antibodies

Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) today announced a strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline to discover, develop and commercialise novel, therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of primary, metastatic and recurring forms of cancer.

18 May 2009

Gene transfer technology may lead to an HIV vaccine

A research team may have broken the stubborn impasse that has frustrated the invention of an effective HIV vaccine, by using an approach that bypasses the usual path followed by vaccine developers.

17 May 2009

FDA approves Avastin (bevacizumab) for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Avastin (bevacizumab) to treat patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) when this form of brain cancer continues to progress following standard therapy.

7 May 2009

Scientists create human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the Hepatitis C virus

Taking aim at a leading cause of liver failure in the United States, a team of scientists at the Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories (MBL) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) has developed a human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the Hepatitis C virus (HCV).

5 May 2009

Seattle Genetics presents new data on antibody-drug conjugate

Seattle Genetics, Inc. has announced that data from its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) programs, SGN-35 and SGN-75, were presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) being held in Denver, CO. Preclinical data with SGN-35 further elucidate its mechanism of action and demonstrate its superior antitumor activity in lymphoma compared with non-targeted agents. In addition, data with SGN-75 indicate its therapeutic potential in multiple types of solid tumors.

22 Apr 2009

Why an effective vaccine for HIV has proven so elusive

Some 25 years after the AIDS epidemic spawned a worldwide search for an effective vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), progress in the field seems to have effectively become stalled.

22 Apr 2009

New insights into how to combat avian flu

An in-depth analysis of blood from patients recovering from the H5N1 avian influenza virus has provided important insights into how to combat the potentially lethal virus.

22 Apr 2009

Experimental insulin-like growth factor receptor inhibitor a clear clinical candidate for pancreatic cancer therapy

Researchers at Amgen are testing a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the activity of insulin-like growth factors (IGF-1 and IGF-2) and appears to reduce pancreatic cancer cells in early testing, according to a report in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

14 Apr 2009

Health Canada approves Simponi (golimumab) for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis

Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. and Schering-Plough Corporation has announced that Health Canada has granted approval of Simponi (golimumab) as a once-monthly, subcutaneous therapy for the treatment of moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and active ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

13 Apr 2009

Trial of new biologic agent to treat psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis affects about 11 percent of patients with psoriasis.

8 Apr 2009

Monoclonal antibody cancer therapy

The strategy of using monoclonal antibodies for cancer treatment was first described in the late 1970s with the promise that they could be developed into therapies that were highly specific to cancer cells, killing them with few or no side effects.

6 Apr 2009

New test for a deadly fungal infection in patients with damaged immune systems

A quicker, cheaper and more accurate test for deadly Aspergillus fumigatus fungal infections in patients with damaged or suppressed immune systems was described today, (Thursday 2 April) at the Society for General Microbiology meeting in Harrogate, by Dr Christopher Thornton from the University of Exeter, UK.

1 Apr 2009

New molecular marker of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world with a high incidence and death rate.

30 Mar 2009

ATCC develops and isolates novel avian flu monoclonal antibodies

ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) researchers have developed a panel of novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against avian influenza viruses. These antibodies could lead to a rapid diagnostic test for the infection, ATCC announced today. The organization has filed a patent covering the development of these novel antibodies.

16 Mar 2009

Biothera receives approval to launch two lung cancer trials

German regulatory authorities have granted approval to Biothera to conduct two open label, multicenter, randomized Phase II clinical trials studying Imprime PGGÂ® administered in combination with monoclonal antibodies and chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the company announced today.

12 Mar 2009

Rituximab useful for advanced indolent lymphoma

A new study has found for the first time that maintenance therapy with the novel antibody, rituximab (MR) following cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisone (CVP) therapy improves progression-free survival in patients with stage III-IV indolent lymphoma, according to Howard S. Hochster, M.D. of NYU Langone Medical Center, lead author of a recent study published online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

11 Mar 2009