A Combinatorial Approach to Enhance Production of Monoclonal Antibodies

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Biopharmaceuticals, also known as biologic medical products (biologics for short) are medicinal products manufactured in or extracted from biological systems and are distinct from synthesized pharmaceutical products. Examples include vaccines against diseases such as polio and therapeutics used to treat numerous diseases, such as cancer and arthritis. These therapeutics are often molecules called monoclonal antibodies that are made by the immune system, our inbuilt anti-disease defense mechanism. Perhaps one the best known examples of this is Trastuzumab (trade name; Herceptin), a monoclonal antibody that is used to treat certain breast cancers. Production of these biologics is expensive and this translates into a high financial cost to health care providers.This project aims to alter the cells that make monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic use, so that they make larger amounts with reduced production costs. This should increase the availability of these powerful therapeutics.