Question

There is a long conversation taking place these days about monoclonal antibodies against COVID-19. From a few biology courses I had a long time ago, I remember that the process of creating mAbs was a very complex and delicate one, with relatively small yields, something that contributed to the reduced availability and the high price of such treatments.

I wanted to ask because after my research I got even more confused and I couldn't conclude: what is the current, modern procedure of mAb production? What are the yields and eventually how logical is to expect a mAb treatment to become widely accessible? Especially though, when common mAb therapies like adalimumab and infliximab cost a few thousand euros/year.

Answer 1

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are produced by immunizing an animal, often a mouse, with a specific antigen. B cells from the immunized animal are fused with cancerous B cells called myeloma cells, resulting in hybridoma cells. These hybridoma cells are screened for the desired mAb and grown in tissue culture, with the mAbs periodically purified from the culture medium. Alternative methods, such as using genetically engineered plants to produce antibodies, are being explored to reduce costs and increase accessibility of mAbs.

Step-by-step explanation:

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are produced by immunizing an animal, often a mouse, with a specific antigen. B cells from the immunized animal are fused with cancerous B cells called myeloma cells, resulting in hybridoma cells. These hybridoma cells are then screened for the desired mAb and grown in tissue culture, with the mAbs periodically purified from the culture medium. This process is time-consuming and expensive, as it may take weeks of culturing and many liters of media to produce enough mAbs for an experiment or treatment.

To address the high cost and limited accessibility of mAbs, researchers have been exploring alternative methods, such as genetically engineering plants to produce antibodies (plantibodies). This technology could potentially reduce costs dramatically and allow for mass production of mAbs. In some cases, it may even be possible to consume these plants as a means of delivering the antibodies directly.