Abstract
Human blood B-lymphocytes are activated through natural immune reaction, such as reaction to infection. B-lymphocytes are stimulated repeatedly with a small amount of antigen, and thus only those producing high affinity antibodies are activated. Consequently the lymphocytes producing the antibodies with high-affinity are accumulated in human blood. Therefore, human lymphocytes are an excellent source of high-affinity antibodies. Evec, Inc. has established a unique method to develop high-affinity antibodies from human lymphocytes, using Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) which has the activity to induce proliferation of B-lymphocytes. The method is to induce proliferation of B-lymphocytes from human blood using EBV, and isolate those producing antibodies of interest. Here, I describe Exec's antibody technology and experiences of license negotiations with Mega Pharmas.
