Monoclonal antibodies as innovative anti-infective agents.

Extract: Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are a thriving class of therapeutics with more than 150 products currently in clinical studies. Like antibodies made naturally in the human body, mAbs bind only to specific targets and can recruit elements of the immune system to destroy the targets. However, since the products are genetically engineered, mAbs can be designed to have characteristics suitable for a variety of medical needs. Since the products first entered clinical studies in the 1980s, commercial interest has focused on cancer and immunological disease treatments. Relatively few companies have used mAbs to target pathogens. The versatile nature of mAbs and the need for innovative medicines for infectious diseases, especially for those caused by newly emerging pathogens, should cause both the public and private sector to reconsider mAbs as anti-infective agents.