Prospects for Commercialization of Human Monoclonal Antibodies

This report comprehensively covers trends fuelling the use of monoclonal antibodies and includes the following:

> An evaluation of the various strategies being used to develop monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic, research, and diagnostic applications.

> Interviews with leading experts in the field.

> An analysis of more than 100 antibody-related deals.

> 25 company profiles.

Overview:

The market for monoclonal antibodies has grown significantly, resulting in numerous companies pursuing a wide variety of approaches to applying monoclonal antibody technology to both therapeutic and nontherapeutic applications. Increasingly, small biotech and genomic companies with a wealth of targets and a desire to reap the benefits of developing their own drugs are partnering with major antibody developers, as well as smaller companies that can convert those targets into potential antibody drugs. This strategy which provides a relatively low cost, low risk mode of entry into the pharmaceutical business is perhaps the largest factor driving the therapeutic antibody field. 

Prospects for the Commercialization of Human Monoclonal Antibodies is based on interviews with leading experts in the field who express their views on the applications and future prospects of current and emerging monoclonal antibodies for therapy, drug discovery research, and in vivo diagnostics. 

The report begins with an evaluation of the efforts of companies that are developing antibody-based research applications, including the use of monoclonal antibodies in target characterization and validation, in diagnostics, on protein arrays—one of the fastest-growing areas in protein analysis, and in many other applications. 

The report then examines monoclonal antibodies currently used in diagnostics and therapeutics, and discusses the activities of many companies that are pursuing various approaches to applying monoclonal antibody technology to therapeutic applications for treating cancer and other major diseases. While all of the therapeutic antibodies to reach the market to date are murine, chimeric, or humanized antibodies, several companies are developing fully human monoclonal antibodies. For example, both Abgenix and Medarex have developed transgenic mice that can produce human antibodies, and several pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies have entered into agreements with Abgenix and Medarex to gain access to this technology. An alternate approach being used by Cambridge Antibody Technology and other companies is to isolate fully human variable domains from phage libraries, and then convert these into monoclonal antibodies. 

Thought Leaders Interviewed for this Report:

Walter A. Blättler, Ph.D., ImmunoGen, Inc.; Professor Carl A.K. Borrebaeck, Lund University; Neil M. Cowen, Epicyte Pharmaceutical, Inc.; Gayle Mills, Abgenix, Inc.; Mitchell E. Reff, IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Clay B. Siegall, Seattle Genetics, Inc. 

Publication date/length: December 2002, 196 pages.

Publisher: Cambridge Healthtech Institute 

To order go to this URL: http://www.bioportfolio.com/cgi-bin/acatalog/Bioportfolio_Cambridge_Healthtech_Institute_29.html#a245