Abstract
Antibodies are proteins in the immune system that help the body defend against
foreign invasion, particularly from pathogens and toxins. As such, a
human-engineered therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb) is protein derived from
the immune system through recombinant DNA technology that has the ability to
combine specifically with a target protein that plays a role in a disease
process. With this unique ability to specifically target diseased cells while
leaving healthy cells unaffected, monoclonal antibodies can serve to diagnose
and treat a wide range of medical conditions. Areas such as breast cancer
therapy have benefited greatly since the advent of drugs like Herceptin
(trastuzumab) that interferes with the HER2/neu receptor. Indeed, the field of
therapeutic monoclonal antibodies potentially has far-reaching and
paradigm-shifting implications for biology, drug discovery, and medical
treatment of disease. The discipline has already yielded discoveries that have
been used for drug delivery and diagnostic purposes, and other exciting new
therapeutic applications. This TriMark Publications report reviews the market
for medical products based on emerging therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. It
defines the dollar volume of sales in the U.S. and worldwide, and it analyzes
the factors that influence the size and the growth of the market segments. The
study goes on to discuss in detail the trends that have developed which have
stimulated this market and surveys many of the companies marketing,
manufacturing or developing monoclonal antibodies therapies. Monoclonal
antibodies for non-therapeutic purposes--used primarily in life science and
research applications--are not discussed in this review. Moreover, antibody
process technology is not covered. Special effort was made to include mention
of smaller companies that are or potentially could have an impact on their
industry far in excess of their current size. Each company is discussed in
depth with a section on the history of the company, the product line, business
and marketing analysis, and a subjective commentary of the position of the
company in its market.
| 
View Cart
