Design, production and evaluation of novel diagnostic and therapeutic reagents. 6-9 December 1999, La Jolla, CA, USA.
The timing of this meeting was indeed auspicious; the antibody engineers were able to celebrate the end of the decade and millennium with the launch of several dominant biotechnology products. Currently, over 30% of all new protein-based therapeutic products before the FDA are based on antibody designs. In the last 12 months, antibodies have hit the international headlines (almost weekly) due to FDA approvals and massive expansion in commercial sales of antithrombotic, anticancer and antiviral antibodies. The latest examples include IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp's rituximab (Rituxan) and Coulter Pharmaceutical Inc's Bexxar (I-131 tositumomab), both targeting CD20 for therapy of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and also Herceptin (trastuzumab; Genentech Inc) for breast cancer. Sales of these antibodies for cancer therapy are potentially over dollars 1 billion in 2001 and have revitalized the interest of the biotechnology industry. Indeed, 'antibodies' are once-again a buzz-word.
Hudson
P J
PJ
CRC for Diagnostic Technologies at CSIRO Health Sciences, CSIRO Health Sciences and Nutrition, 343 Royal Parade, Parkville 3052, Victoria, Australia. peter.hudson@molsci.csiro.au