Antibodies
Antibodies are natural proteins that are critical in assisting the immune system in identifying and neutralizing foreign particles like bacteria and viruses. Not only must these proteins have the ability to selectively recognize foreign components, it is imperative that antibodies efficiently recruit all the necessary immune system machineries needed to combat these invaders.
Taking advantage of the unique properties of antibodies, these bi-functional proteins are being exploited as potential therapeutics against cancers and autoimmune diseases. Hailed as one of the most important success stories in the pharmaceutical industry, over 20 antibody therapeutics are available on the market totaling sales exceeding $22 billion, with almost 180 additional candidates in various stages of clinical development.
The successfully commercialized antibodies were primarily generated using traditional random screening methodologies, and these discovery processes can be streamlined with the help of rational computational approaches. Furthermore, computation can be utilized to improve the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of existing antibody therapeutics to better target disease conditions with less associated side effects.