Can Antibody Therapy Curtail Infectious Diseases Such as HIV

It has been about three decades since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first monoclonal antibody. Since then, antibody engineering has dramatically evolved. 

The recent pandemic was the first time monoclonal antibody-based therapies were produced in significant quantities to combat a new infectious disease. Globally, clinics administered hundreds of thousands of antibody injections over the first two years of the pandemic.

Antibody therapy worked... until it didn't.

The U.S. CDC says the infectious virus's rapid evolution outpaced the benefits derived from antibodies.

According to Michael Dumiak's article published by IAVI on April 25, 2024, this experience and other issues have researchers assessing the future of antibody therapies for treating or preventing infectious diseases, including some of the most complicated pathogens, such as HIV and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

A potential application is blocking mother-to-child transmission of HIV during birth and through the breastfeeding period.

"We are in the position that if you want more antibodies for infectious disease, you need to be very cautious," says Rino Rappuoli, scientific director of the Biotecnopolo di Siena Foundation in Italy.

The unedited, complete IAVI article is posted at this link.

Note: As of May 5, 2024, the U.S. FDA has not approved an HIV vaccine candidate.