Antibody fragments: Prolonging circulation half-life special issue-antibody research

Abstract

Antibodies are currently the fastest growing class of\rtherapeutic proteins. When antibody fragments are included, there are over\rthirty-five antibody-based medicines approved for human therapy. Many more\rantibody and antibody-like fragments are being evaluated clinically.\rProduction of antibody fragments can be efficient and their compact size can\rallows for better tissue extravasation into solid tumors than full antibodies.\rUnfortunately, a key limitation of antibody fragments for systemic use is\rtheir short half-life in circulation. Prolonging their circulation half-life\rcan be accomplished clinically by the covalent conjugation of the antibody\rfragment to the water-soluble polymer, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). Many polymers\rand strategies are also being pursued to increase antibody fragment half-life.