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Review
. 2024 Jan 15;10(1):2.
doi: 10.1186/s40794-023-00212-x.

Monoclonal antibody applications in travel medicine

Hanna K de Jong  1 , Martin P Grobusch  2   3   4   5   6
Affiliations
Review

Monoclonal antibody applications in travel medicine

Hanna K de Jong et al. Trop Dis Travel Med Vaccines. .

Abstract

For decades, immunoglobulin preparations have been used to prevent or treat infectious diseases. Since only a few years, monoclonal antibody applications (mAbs) are taking flight and are increasingly dominating this field. In 2014, only two mAbs were registered; end of October 2023, more than ten mAbs are registered or have been granted emergency use authorization, and many more are in (pre)clinical phases. Especially the COVID-19 pandemic has generated this surge in licensed monoclonal antibodies, although multiple phase 1 studies were already underway in 2019 for other infectious diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. Monoclonal antibodies could function as prophylaxis (i.e., for the prevention of malaria), or could be used to treat (tropical) infections (i.e., rabies, dengue fever, yellow fever). This review focuses on the discussion of the prospects of, and obstacles for, using mAbs in the prevention and treatment of (tropical) infectious diseases seen in the returning traveler; and provides an update on the mAbs currently being developed for infectious diseases, which could potentially be of interest for travelers.

Keywords: Malaria; Monoclonal antibodies; Prophylaxis; Travelers; Tropical infectious disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Expansion of number of licensed products for mAbs targeting infectious diseases over the last decades. Every single dot represents a licensed monoclonal antibody. On the x-axis, the monoclonal was licensed by either the FDA or EMA or both in the year indicated
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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