Monoclonal Antibody Development Platforms - What to look for

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) is the fastest growing segment in biologics. Due to their specificity and flexibility mAbs present an attractive option for the development of new therapies against a wide variety of diseases. There are several mAbs which have gained approval and several more in the pipeline. Apart from these there are mAbs which are in the development stages. In order to develop a monoclonal antibody for a particular condition biopharmaceutical companies invest large amount of time and money. Some companies also make strategic moves by licensing or acquiring development platforms from contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) and smaller biotech companies. This article discusses about the various monoclonal antibody development platforms that are available in the market and their features. Development platforms and technologies offered by CMOs and biotech companies have their own unique features and advantages. Identifying the right platform for development is the first step to effective mAb development. The article also covers the various licensing partnerships and collaborations between biopharma companies and CMOs for mAb development. Introduction: Monoclonal antibody (mAb) has the property to target a particular cell in the body and thereby offers several advantages in the field of medicines. Development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) using hybridoma technology is one of the most widely used technologies in the biopharmaceutical industry. The development process for commercial monoclonal antibodies includes several stages like cell line development, upstream development, downstream development, purification development and analytical development. Initial stages of development are the most crucial part of antibody development which decides the productivity and stability of the mAb. Cell line development is the first and challenging step to generate stable cell lines with adequate productivity for clinical or commercial material production.   Author: Vaishnavi Loganathan