Site-specific structural modification of monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic application

Abstract

Monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based targeting is being increasingly accepted as the passive immunotherapy of choice for human disease. In contrast, instances where mAb administration can elicit natural immune mechanisms in patients as a means of active disease management are not so well documented. These two patents illustrate ways in which the specific manipulation of mAb variable (V) regions might allow new methods for generating therapeutic mAbs by design: substitution of exogenous sequences for complementarity-determining region (CDR) residues in mAb V-regions as a route to mAbs of novel defined specificity (WO9925378), and elimination of intra-polypeptide chain disulphide bonds to promote anti-idiotypic responses in individuals receiving mAb treatment (WO9925379).

• antigenised antibody
• complementarity-determining region
• intrachain disulphide bond
• monoclonal antibody (mAb)