[Therapeutic use of monoclonal antibodies]

Three monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been approved for the treatment of transplant rejection, sepsis, and colorectal carcinoma. The breakthrough, however, has not yet been achieved, in contrast to diagnostic mAbs. The general applicability for a large number of patients and long-term therapeutic success have not yet been proven. A complete cure by mAbs alone has been observed in only a few cases. In many cases conventional medications have to be administered in parallel. There are a number of inherent problems which reside in both the biochemistry of the antibodies and the biology of the patients. There is no doubt, however, that in 5-7 years mAbs will be used routinely to treat cases of rejection of transplanted organs, autoimmune diseases, infections and cancer.