Biologic
UniProt P31358
Alemtuzumab
Lemtrada
- Mechanism of action
- CD52 antagonist (mAb)
- In plain language
- A lab-made antibody that latches onto CD52, a marker found on certain immune cells, flagging those cells for destruction and letting the immune system slowly rebuild.
- How it works
- Alemtuzumab is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody that binds CD52, a cell-surface antigen expressed on T and B lymphocytes, natural killer cells, monocytes, and macrophages. Upon binding, it induces antibody-dependent cellular cytolysis and complement-mediated lysis of these cells, producing profound and sustained lymphocyte depletion. In multiple sclerosis, the precise mechanism by which this translates to therapeutic benefit is not fully established, but it is believed to relate to depletion and subsequent repopulation of the lymphocyte pool, altering the immune response thought to drive disease activity.
- Therapeutic applications
- Currently FDA-indicated (as Lemtrada) for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, including relapsing-remitting disease and active secondary progressive disease, in adults, generally reserved for patients with inadequate response to two or more prior MS therapies. The same molecule was previously marketed as Campath for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, though that product is no longer marketed for that indication.
- Class
- Monoclonal antibody
- Therapeutic area
- Oncology / Neurology
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