None of the patients reported significant side effects as a result of receiving the drug. Among the comparison group, the patient survival rate was 96 percent and the kidney graft survival rate was 90 percent. In addition to its use in kidney transplants, Zenapax is currently being evaluated for the prevention of rejection in other organs, as well as for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, Vincenti said. One of the first fruits of biotechnology, monoclonal antibodies traditionally have been made by injecting mice with a target protein or infectious organism and then isolating and growing the cells that produce antibodies against the foreign substance. As a consequence, mouse antibodies typically can be given only once, which is rarely enough to prevent or treat disease.
Humanized monoclonals attempt to solve that problem.
Using computer modeling and genetic engineering, Protein Design Labs combined the binding site of a mouse antibody, the small part of the antibody that attaches to its target, with 90 percent of a human antibody. Search Copyright 1998 Regents of the University of California. All rights Reserved. Please direct all comments and questions to the Daybreak Editor. Please contact the UC Web Developer for questions of a technical nature.