Antibody Half‐Life

This chapter considers technologies for adjusting the half-life of antibodies to perform optimally according to their therapeutic goals. FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) comprise a wide range of therapies, targeting cancer, autoimmune dysfunction, infectious disease, neurodegenerative conditions, macular degeneration, osteoporosis, and transplant rejection. One of the most compelling features of antibodies as therapeutics is their long half-life in the circulation, as compared to the small molecule-based pharmaceutical agents, whose half-life may be only minutes or at the most hours long. The chapter reviews the history of antibody development leading to issues of half-life improvement. It then considers the role of FcRn molecule in the extension of antibody half-life and mechanisms whereby this performance can be augmented. The chapter concludes with a consideration of technological innovations under way, which may notably improve half-life performance in the coming years.