antigen Archives

Conjugation chemistry creates affordable childhood vaccines

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Andrew Lees has developed a conjugation method for the development of conjugate vaccines using the chemical CDAP, and combining this with a minimal-profit business model, is providing vaccines at affordable rates to children in developing countries.

The immune system provides a formidable defence against pathogens. However, many bacteria possess a protective sugar polymer coat. In children, the immune system does not respond to these polymers unless they are chemically linked to a carrier. This is the basis of conjugate vaccines, a powerful but expensive means to fight diseases like pneumonia, the leading cause of death in […]

Increasing the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies

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Dr Martina Zimmerman has used ThioFuc as part of the cell culture media in order to improve the potency of rituximab, which may in turn lead to a reduction in the number of antibody treatments required

The advent of monoclonal antibody (mAb) technology has allowed the production of antibodies that can target specific antigens on malignant tumour cells or other inflammatory molecules that are known to exacerbate diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn’s disease. Dr Martina Zimmermann, Dr Aline Zimmer, and their team from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, added 5-Thio-L-Fucose (ThioFuc) to the cell culture […]