Antibody‐Recruitment as a Therapeutic Strategy: A Brief History and Recent Advances

Abstract Antibodies are a significant and growing sector within the global pharmaceutical industry. The popularity of antibodies as therapeutics derives from – at least in part – evolvable affinity for virtually any disease‐relevant cell surface receptor, as well as unique immunotherapeutic mechanisms of action, including neutralization, antibody‐dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), complement‐dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), and antibody‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). While advances in the large‐scale expression and purification of therapeutic antibodies have been made, these remain costly and laborious tasks. Agents that redirect endogenous antibodies to target a pathogen or malignant cell obviate the need for new antibody discovery and production. Chimeric antibody‐recruiting technologies consist of a target cell surface receptor binding domain, and an endogenous antibody‐binding domain. By design, these agents bring endogenous antibodies to the surface of a target pathogen or diseased cell, which can result in targeted cytotoxicity by antibody‐dependent mechanisms. This review highlights seminal contributions and recent advances in this growing and important therapeutic field.