Therapeutic antibodies: market considerations, disease targets and bioprocessing

Antibodies are well established in mainstream clinical practice and present an exciting area for collaborative research and development in industry and academia alike. In this review, we will provide an overview of the current market and an outlook to 2015, focussing on whole antibody molecules while acknowledging the next generation scaffolds containing variable fragments. The market will be discussed in the context of disease targets, particularly in the areas of oncology and immune disorders which generate the greatest revenue by a wide margin. Emerging targets include central nervous system disorders which will also stimulate new delivery strategies. It is becoming increasingly apparent that a better understanding of bioprocessing is required in order to optimize the steps involved in the preparation of a protein prior to formulation. The latter is outside the scope of this review and nor is it our intention to discuss protein delivery and pharmacokinetics. The challenges that lie ahead include the discovery of new disease targets and the development of robust bioprocessing operations.