Monoclonal antibody form and function: manufacturing the right antibodies for treating drug abuse

Drug abuse continues to be a major national and worldwide problem, and effective treatment strategies are badly needed. Antibodies are promising therapies for the treatment of medical problems caused by drug abuse, with several candidates in preclinical and early clinical trials. Monoclonal antibodies can be designed that have customized affinity and specificity against drugs of abuse, and because antibodies can be designed in various forms, in vivo pharmacokinetic characteristics can be tailored to suit specific clinical applications (eg, long-acting for relapse prevention, or short-acting for overdose). Passive immunization with antibodies against drugs of abuse has several advantages over active immunization, but because large doses of monoclonal antibodies may be needed for each patient, efficient antibody production technology is essential. In this minireview we discuss some of the antibody forms that may be effective clinical treatments for drug abuse, as well as several current and emerging production systems that could bridge the gap from discovery to patient use.