graphic of antibody's size versus that of a regular drug

[Sherlock]

This slide is from the FDA webinar yesterday, which would also happen to give an idea about why the rituximab version called Reditux which is made in India wouldn't be exactly the same as the original Rituxan/Mabthera - it's just too complicated and in fact the number of molecules in either cannot even be exactly measured.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/UCM356666.pdf

 

[Sasha]

I bet that aspirin feels pretty stupid.

 

[SOC]

I bet that aspirin feels pretty stupid.

aspirin:
rituxan:

 

[Nielk]

Aspirin might be the David though against the antibody Goliath.

 

[Sasha]

Aspirin might be the David though against the antibody Goliath.

That's what I'd be saying if I was Aspirin!

 

[alex3619]

That protein is a long chain - a string. Its all folded up. What holds it together is a combination of electric charges and new chemical bonds. What do you need to make those chemical bonds? Glutathione. What are we deficient in? Glutathione. What happens if the antibodies are not folding properly? My guess is a loss of specificity leading to a capacity to attack a wider range of targets. Its just speculation but it ties methylation issues to our kind of autoimmune issue.

Aspirin is an assassin though. It attacks its target and dies in the process. So it really does fit the ninja icon.

Duplicating antibody drugs exactly is indeed extremely difficult. It could be done though, but would require lots more work and genetically engineered B cells or something.