Antibody discovery for neglected tropical and emerging infectious diseases

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies are now routinely used as cancer therapies and immunosuppressants. Many mAbs licensed today are so-called 'blockbuster' therapies, with the majority of the Top 10 best-selling therapeutic drugs being mAbs. Until recently, mAbs for infectious diseases have largely lagged behind those for cancer and immunotherapies. However, the increase in demand for therapies, and spurred on by the recent covid pandemic, has led to substantial investments and advances in optimised manufacturing and reducing production costs. As such, there is increasing appetite for investing and developing mAbs for infectious diseases, including emerging infectious diseases and those which predominantly affect LMICs. Using LSTM's and Lancaster University's unique resources, this project will be focused on the development of mAbs for a range of neglected tropical diseases, such as snakebite envenoming and recently emerging infectious diseases including pox viruses (for example, mpox).