Design and manufacture of monoclonal antibodies for radioimmunotherapy

Appropriate design and manufacture of monoclonal antibodies is fundamental to their use for radioimmunotherapy. Besides the right selection of antibody specificity and affinity, recombinant antibodies can be designed to simplify manufacture and minimise unwanted side effects. Although many innovative new technologies have been developed in recent years, antibodies are still most commonly produced from mammalian cells and purified by column chromatography. Purification methods have to be designed and validated to remove potential contaminants, especially retroviruses which in principle might be present in mammalian cell lines. Adherence to relevant Good Manufacturing Practice is mandatory in the production of any medicinal product and there are numerous guidelines regarding the manufacture of antibodies. This article outlines some methods used for fermentation, purification and quality control of antibodies intended for radiolabelling