Developments in the Production of Recombinant Monoclonal Antibodies

Over the last three decades, recombinant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have emerged as highly promising therapeutics in the treatment and cure of chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, neurological disorders, ophthalmologic disorders, viral neutralization, research reagents, and diagnostic tools. This has led to a rapid increase in the mAb market globally. Increased market demands have led researchers to develop hosts like mammalian cells, bacteria, fungi, yeast, insect cell lines, transgenic plants, and transgenic animals for increased mAb production. To surpass different challenges related to activity and production, different upstream strategies like antibody engineering, host cell engineering, media formulation, and bioreactor parameter optimization are being developed. The development of simple and low-cost downstream techniques is also one of the most important steps in antibody production for making an economically feasible process and product. The present review aims to briefly discuss the history of mAb production and current strategies used for the development and production of recombinant mAbs on a larger scale.