Improving Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity Assessment through the Use of an Automated Luminescent ADCC Assay

Antibody therapies including Trastuzumab (Herceptin®; F Hoffman-La Roche), have shown great promise for treatment of patients with leukemia, lymphomas, breast, and other cancer types due to their specificity and reduced side effects (Zhou, 2007). One of the mechanisms which play a central role in the response to clinical antibody therapy is antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) (Wang, 2008). This involves the response of natural killer (NK) cells to bind to specific antibody-coated target cells, such as CD20 and HER2/neu expressing cells, to promote the death of the target cell. With many of the existing patents covering these treatments set to expire in the next few years, the development of biologic therapeutics similar to the original drug (biosimilars) has become increasingly important. This is highlighted by the report that Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and Viropro are set to work together to develop a biosimilar to Rituximab (GEN News Highlights, 2011).