Although the MorphoSys HuCAL technology was originally designed for
the development of therapeutic antibodies, it also brings tremendous
advantages to the development of antibodies for use as reagents in
research and diagnostics.
Hybridoma technology, the traditional way of generating custom
monoclonal antibodies, is well established in these markets and for
many years was the only method available to scientists. However,
developing custom monoclonals in this way requires considerable time,
expense, and expertise, specialized cell culture facilities, access to
animals for immunization and harvesting of spleen cells. Additionally,
many molecules are not immunogenic in mammals or are toxic and cannot
be used as antigens.
Key benefits of recombinant monoclonal antibodies
- Speed – monoclonal antibodies can be selected and purified in just 8 weeks
- Specificity – intelligent screening protocols allow direct
selection of epitope-specific antibodies, antibodies with specific
cross-reactivity, or antibodies with specific affinities
- Target range – targets with poor immunogenicity in animals are
generally effective antigens in vitro, where there are no species
barriers
- Custom design – antibodies can be engineered genetically during the
selection procedure for expression in a variety of formats and
valencies, and with a range of tags or enzyme fusions for detection or
labeling
- Direct selection of sandwich pairs
