UNMC_Acronym_Vert_sm_4c
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Antibody drugs could target infectious diseases

(Washington Post) At a malaria research conference five years ago in Senegal, scientist Timothy Wells presented an overview of medicines on the horizon, ending with a few slides focused on an outlandish idea. Wells proposed that monoclonal antibody drugs — a class of high-price medicines that has transformed the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases — had a role in preventing malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that kills more than a half-million people each year, mostly children in Africa. Scientifically, it was plausible. Practically speaking, it seemed ludicrous.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.