Therapeutic antibodies and infectious diseases, Tours, France, November 20−22, 2012

Abstract

The Therapeutic Antibodies and Infectious Diseases international congress was held in Tours, France on November 20−22, 2012. The first session was devoted to the development of antibodies directed against bacterial toxins or viruses that could be used in a potential bioterrorist threat situation. The second session dealt with the effector functions of anti-microbial antibodies, while the third was oriented toward anti-viral antibodies, with a special emphasis on antibodies directed against the human immunodeficiency and hepatitis C viruses. After a lecture by a speaker from the US Food and Drug Administration on antibody cocktails, the second day ended with a special session dedicated to discussions regarding the involvement of French biotechnology industries in the field. On the last day, the congress concluded with talks about current antibody treatments for infectious diseases, with a particular focus on their adverse events. Participants enjoyed this very stimulating and convivial meeting, which gathered scientists from various countries who had different scientific research interests.

Keywords: :

• antibodies
• infectious diseases
• monoclonal
• immunotherapy

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflict of interest was disclosed.

Acknowledgments

This work has been funded with support from the French Higher Education and Research ministry under the program “Investissements d’avenir” Grant Agreement: LabEx MAbImprove ANR-10-LABX-53–01. The authors wish to thank individually each of the speakers who participated in the congress and who kindly reviewed the abstract of their contribution. The authors are grateful to Annie Gauvineau, Marc Bonnemaison, Marc Ohresser, the Scientific Committee and the sponsors for their precious help in organizing the congress. They were responsible for a large part of its success.