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. 2017 Nov 16;8(1):12.
doi: 10.1007/s13317-017-0100-y.

Next-generation anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies in autoimmune disease treatment

Fanny Huynh Du  1 , Elizabeth A Mills  2 , Yang Mao-Draayer  3   4
Affiliations

Next-generation anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies in autoimmune disease treatment

Fanny Huynh Du et al. Auto Immun Highlights. .

Abstract

The clinical success of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb)-mediated B cell depletion therapy has contributed to the understanding of B cells as major players in several autoimmune diseases. The first therapeutic anti-CD20 mAb, rituximab, is a murine-human chimera to which many patients develop antibodies and/or experience infusion-related reactions. A second generation of anti-CD20 mAbs has been designed to be more effective, better tolerated, and of lower immunogenicity. These include the humanized versions: ocrelizumab, obinutuzumab, and veltuzumab, and the fully human, ofatumumab. We conducted a literature search of relevant randomized clinical trials in the PubMed database and ongoing trials in Clinicaltrials.gov. Most of these trials have evaluated intravenous ocrelizumab or subcutaneous ofatumumab in rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or systemic lupus erythematosus. Understanding how newer anti-CD20 mAbs compare with rituximab in terms of efficacy, safety, convenience, and cost is important for guiding future management of anti-CD20 mAb therapy in autoimmune diseases.

Keywords: Anti-CD20; B cell; Multiple sclerosis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Systematic lupus erythematosus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

FHD and EAM have nothing to disclose. YMD has served as a consultant and/or received grant support from: Acorda, Bayer Pharmaceutical, Biogen Idec, EMD Serono, Genzyme, Novartis, Questor, Genentech, and Teva Neuroscience.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

This is a review article about clinical trials in which the participants had informed consent. No identifying information was used in this article.

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