Re:Cure for cancer one step closer after 'spectacular' break...
by moe on Tuesday June 02, 2015 @08:14AM
(#9645309)
Could you give a brief explanation (in layman's terms) of why they are so difficult/expensive to make?
Wikipedia[1] is full of jargon, but one caption says "Monoclonal antibodies can be grown in unlimited quantities in the bottles shown in this picture". So the process at least looks scalable. What materials/constraints can possibly cost $25k per dose?
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoclonal_antibody#Production
Re:Cure for cancer one step closer after 'spectacular' break...
by calinet6 on Tuesday June 02, 2015 @08:24AM
(#9645354)
The images are full of fluff. The bottles are only one step in the process described in the section after that, which includes a dozen or so complex steps, each of which must be executed perfectly. Doesn't look simple.
It's a Monoclonal antibody, they are currently by far the most expensive drugs ever made.
They are very difficult to make, and almost impossible to make in bulk. It's not a chemical process, it's a biological one.
Unfortunately monoclonal antibodies are also some of the most promising drugs currently available. They can do things no other drug can.
It's really too bad they are so expensive to make.