MABs / Strategies and themes
Strategies and themes for currently approved MABs and Fusion Proteins
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there are two general strategies employed in the design of MABs and fusion proteins:
- inhibit a protein (receptor, cytokine, etc.) to suppress normal function
- e.g., adalimumab, infliximab and entanercept target TNFα OR its receptor
- originally, this category of antibodies was designed to interfere with the function of immune system cells; now it is a more general approach (e.g., inhibition of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor to prevent clotting)
- recruit the patient's immune system to attack and destroy cells that are selectively expressing a particular protein
- e.g., cetuximab and panitumumab (which bind to the EGFR) are used to treat colon cancer
- inhibit a protein (receptor, cytokine, etc.) to suppress normal function
- there are 3 common themes to keep in mind:
- the same target may be active in different diseases, therefore the same drug (or a different drug targeting the same protein or process) may be used to treat different diseases
- e.g.
- VEGF in colon cancer and macular degeneration
- CTLA4 in psoraisis and rheumatoid arthritis
- e.g.
- different antibodies (humanized vs. chimeric) may be used against the same target (usually because different drug companies use different approaches to design the drugs)
- e.g. basiliximab and daclizumab target the interleukin 2 receptor (CD25) and are used in organ transplantation
- cytotoxic agents can be used to increase efficacy
- e.g., ibritumomab and tositumomab vs. rituximab and oftatumomab in cancer treatment
- for a relatively complete list of currently approved MABs and FPs, click here