Monoclonal antibody production

Abstract

In 1975, Kohler and Milstein began a Nobel Prize-winning revolution in the scientific community. Even then, probably very few individuals could have envisioned the tremendous developments awaiting the future. Monoclonal antibodies have become powerful tools in virtually every field of biological science and medicine. The discovery of novel applications and their contributions to all fields of research have been limitless. Monoclonal antibodies constitute one of the most important scientific tools for the past two decades. Although research was the first market penetrated, monoclonal antibodies have become a driving force in today’s $17 billion medical diagnostics market. Most current home pregnancy and ovulation tests employ monoclonal antibodies and more recently, monoclonal antibodies have moved into the medical therapeutics market with potential products for various cancers and autoimmune diseases.