New Techniques for the Production of Therapeutic Recombinant Human Monoclonal Antibodies

Hybridoma technology has enabled the production of large quantities of murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed to specific antigens. However, the therapeutic usefulness of these reagents in humans has been limited by the unwanted immune response induced in patients. Although human mAbs are difficult to obtain with conventional techniques, murine mAbs can be ‘humanised’ and tailored to the particular clinical application by antibody engineering. Human antibody fragments can be derived from repertoires of associated immunoglobulin heavy and light chains displayed on the surface of bacteriophages, and are readily diversified by random point mutation or by chain shuffling. Here we review strategies in the development of therapeutic recombinant human antibodies.