Plastic Antibodies: Future Wave of Biotech Drugs?

The MIT Technology Review published an article today summarizing the recent development of polymer-based artificial antibodies. The prototype polymer antibody was developed around the target protein melittin. It proved to be a highly specific and to have very high affinity for its target. The original scholarly article was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

This is a significant development for several reasons, including the fact that it may be possible to develop entirely synthetic antibodies for therapeutic use. Current therapeutic uses of antibodies include FDA-approved drugs like Humira. Humira targets a protein known as TNF-alpha. By suppressing TNF-alpha, Humira is capable of suppressing the human immune system. Humira is indicated for diseases like Crohn's and Rheumatoid Arthritis. The development of Humira for therapeutic use is complex because it is a humanized monocolonal antibody - meaning, mouse monoclonal antibodies are massively modified with human DNA. The modified DNA is then placed in mammal cell cultures to grow and replicate.

Humira can cost more than US$13,000 per year for an uninsured person. These costs are largely driven by two factors, the expensive drug development Abbott pursued in getting Humira approved by FDA, and the cost of manufacturing.

Fully synthetic polymer-based antibody discovery and manufacturing offers a glimpse of what might be: cheaper drug discovery, development, and manufacturing for an important class of drugs. A welcome side-effect will be cheaper drugs for the gravely ill patients needing them most.