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Advances in Predicting and Manipulating the Immunogenicity of Biotherapeutics and Vaccines

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Abstract

Therapeutic proteins are vital to the future of human health provision and the survival and profitability of the global pharmaceutical industry. Returns from protein therapeutics are experiencing unprecedented growth: both their number and their economic dividend have increased by an order of magnitude in the last 10 years. The potential immunogenicity of protein therapeutics raises many clinical and safety concerns. Many poorly understood factors relating to both product and host affect immune responses. Available laboratory measurement of immunogenicity is of little utility for predicting the clinical properties of biotherapeutics. Coupled with assay variability and standardization issues, this precludes adequate prediction of the biological or clinical responses of therapeutic proteins, arguing for the utilization of informatic strategies in the analysis and prediction of protein immunogenicity. Currently, many unresolved issues must be addressed and thus circumvented before effective prediction can become routine.

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Acknowledgments

DRF received salary support from a Senior Jenner Fellowship and the Wellcome Trust Grant WT079287MA; he is a Jenner Institute Investigator. No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this review. The author has no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this review.

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  1. The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 7NN, UK

    Darren R. Flowerc

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  1. Darren R. Flowerc
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Correspondence to Darren R. Flowerc.

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Flowerc, D.R. Advances in Predicting and Manipulating the Immunogenicity of Biotherapeutics and Vaccines. BioDrugs 23, 231–240 (2009). https://doi.org/10.2165/11317530-000000000-00000

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