Avian Influenza Human Antibody Discovered

A human monoclonal antibody (MAb) against the deadly strain of H5N1 bird flu has been discovered, reports a new study.

Researchers from Dutch biotechnology company Crucell (Leiden, The Netherlands) produced the antibodies using a proprietary vaccine production technology that uses cell culture to manufacture recombinant proteins and MAb's on a large scale. Called PER.C6, the technology has a good safety profile, can be scaled to different production needs, and is productive under serum free culture conditions. In the case of influenza vaccine, the virus was grown in carefully selected cells instead of the more commonly used chicken eggs. Crucell presented the findings of pre-clinical studies at the 5th International Bird Flu Summit, held during September 2007 in Las Vegas (NV, USA).

"Using phage display technology a set of human monoclonal antibodies active against a broad range of distinct H5N1 strains was developed,” said Jaap Goudsmit, M.D., Ph.D., Crucell's chief scientific officer. "We will show the ability of these antibodies to prevent infection as well as to prevent and cure disease caused by H5N1 virus in mice.”

Monoclonal antibodies are derived from only one cell and recognize only one portion of a molecule. Because MAb's are highly specific, they can be used to diagnose disease or to protect against disease-causing organisms, and have been used variously in human medicine (for instance to target specific cancer cells) since a technique for making them was developed by Köhler and Milstein in the 1970s (for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize).


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