Arrayed protein library technology for therapeutic biologic discovery.

The first monoclonal antibody was appproved for human clinical use in 1985. This antibody, OKT3 (Kung et al., 1979), was derived from a mouse hybridoma and produced anti-mouse reactions that limited its use, and hindered further development of monoclonal antibodies. Humanization technology eliminated these cross-species issues and resulted in the approval of the first recombinant “chimeric” antibody rituximab and “humanized” antibody trastuzumab in 1997 and 1998, respectively. The approval of these molecules opened the floodgates for antibody development, as over 20 antibodies are currently approved by the FDA for therapeutic use and hundreds are in clinical development (nelson et al., yEAR?). The need for humanized recombinant antibodies spurred the develoment of several technologies for their discovery and engineering.