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Anti-infective monoclonals step in where antimicrobials fail

Nature Biotechnology volume 31, pages 952–953 (2013)Cite this article

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Today, anti-infective mAbs, in particular, are poised for a resurgence. Nearly a decade ago (Nat. Biotechnol. 24, 1491–1493, 2006), they seemed at the brink of commercial readiness. But several candidate mAbs then in clinical trials either failed trials or could not find traction during preclinical testing as anti-infective agents. Of some ten candidates then considered promising, Abthrax (raxibacumab) is the only such product from that group to gain approval—late in 2012—from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), evaluated under the terms of the FDA “animal rule” (Nat. Biotechnol. 31, 8, 2013). This GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) monoclonal, which neutralizes toxins produced by the bacterial pathogen Bacillus anthracis, was developed by Human Genome Sciences, a Washington, DC–area biotech company that the London-based pharma purchased in 2012.

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    Jeffrey L Fox

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Fox, J. Anti-infective monoclonals step in where antimicrobials fail. Nat Biotechnol 31, 952–953 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1113-952b

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