Visilizumab (tentative trade name Nuvion, PDL BioPharma Inc.) is a

humanized monoclonal antibody Humanized antibodies are antibodies from non-human species whose protein sequences have been modified to increase their similarity to antibody variants produced naturally in humans. The process of "humanization" is usually applied to monoclonal ant ...

. It is being investigated for use as an

immunosuppressive drug Immunosuppressive drugs, also known as immunosuppressive agents, immunosuppressants and antirejection medications, are drugs that inhibit or prevent the activity of the immune system. Classification Immunosuppressive drugs can be classifie ...

in patients with

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the other type being Crohn's disease. It is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary sympto ...

and

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

. Visilizumab binds to the

CD3 receptor CD3 or CD-3 may refer to: * CD3, or 2020 CD3, a small minimoon of Earth * CD3 (immunology), an antigen, cluster of differentiation protein (immunology), part of the T cell receptor (TCR) complex on a mature T lymphocyte * Cost of delay (CD3 Prio ...

on certain activated

T cell T cells (also known as T lymphocytes) are an important part of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell receptor (TCR) on their cell ...

s without affecting resting T cells. It is currently under clinical studies for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. PDL BioPharma, Inc. canceled production of visilizumab following its Phase II/III

clinical trials Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

, citing its inefficacy and poor safety profile compared to other drugs on the market as the major reasons. Nevertheless, clinical trials continue for various diseases like

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

and

diabetes mellitus type 1 Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic cells (beta cells). In healthy persons, beta cells produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone required ...

. Visilizumab has also been

radiolabel A radioactive tracer, radiotracer, or radioactive label is a synthetic derivative of a natural compound in which one or more atoms have been replaced by a radionuclide (a radioactive atom). By virtue of its radioactive decay, it can be used to exp ...

led with

technetium-99m Technetium-99m (99mTc) is a metastable nuclear isomer of technetium-99 (itself an isotope of technetium), symbolized as 99mTc, that is used in tens of millions of medical diagnostic procedures annually, making it the most commonly used Radiophar ...

for imaging T cells.

References

Monoclonal antibodies {{antineoplastic-drug-stub