Monoclonal antibodies are emerging as an effective new class of drugs to address cancer and auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, head and neck cancer etc. Leading pharmaceutical company Biocon recently launched an Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (BIOMAb-EGFR ) — using monoclonal antibodies — for head and neck cancer.

The company is also working on a new drug, CD6, another antibody drug, for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis which is currently in stage 2 of clinical trials.

Said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director Biocon, “The BIOMaB-EGFR is to treat head and neck cancer. The drug promises to be as good as any western drug but it is far cheaper than the imported equivalents currently available in the market.”

The cancer of head and neck, constitutes almost 30 per cent of the cancers occuring in the country. Those of the neck and throat are mostly a fallout of tobacco consumption.

Combined with radiation or chemotherapy, the drug has been found to be very effective. “The data has been very good. One can have it along with mild chemotherapy. It has no side-effects, said Shaw.

The drug, she says, also addresses issues like quality of life. For example, “elderly people who are too weak to be given radiation therapy or chemotherapy, for them, it will be useful.’’

WHAT IS ANTIBODY THERAPY

• Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulin, are a crucial component of the immune system.

• Circulating in the blood and lymphatic system, they help identify substances foreign to the body, like bacteria or virus. Antibodies work by binding themselves to the foreign substance, also known as antigen.

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