Celebrating the Journey of Monoclonal Antibodies 1975–2025

In 1975, Georges Köhler and César Milstein changed the antibody landscape forever when they published their groundbreaking invention of hybridoma technology. This allowed scientists to create "monoclonal antibodies”, exact copies of a specific antibody that could recognize one precise part of a target. Nowadays, these are playing a big role in modern healthcare, with over 212 approved therapeutics treating tens of millions of people.

The journey over the last 50 years has been historic. We have evolved from basic mouse antibodies to highly specific formats like:

● Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs): Antibodies that carry a "poison" directly to cancer cells.

● Bispecific Antibodies: Multi-taskers that can grab a cancer cell and a T-cell at the same time to force a fight.

● CAR T-Cells: Engineering a patient's own immune cells to carry antibody "sensors" on their surface.

The Specificity Challenge:

As we look to the next 50 years, the stakes are higher than ever. Future trends are toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) for antibody design and reaching "undruggable" targets in the organisms.

However, there is a hidden hurdle: Specificity. Even a well-designed antibody can fail if it accidentally binds to the wrong protein in the body. Cross-reactivity issues discovered late in development can cost way more than expected and delay programs further.

How CDI Labs is Boosting the Future:

At CDI Labs, we believe the next era of antibody therapeutics requires higher insurance against these late-stage failures. Our HuProt™ and HuScan TRACE™ technologies provide a Proteome-Wide look at how an antibody behaves.

● HuProt™ (The Protein View): We screen your antibody against over 21,000 human proteins, covering about 81% of the human proteome. This identifies off-target binding without making any assumptions.

● HuScan™ TRACE (The Epitope View): This algorithm maps the exact "fingerprint" or epitope your antibody recognizes at a peptide level.

By combining these tools, we can successfully determine the specificity of 80–90% of tested antibodies early in the process. By eliminating non-specific candidates upfront, we ensure that only the highest-quality, most precise antibodies move forward to the downstream. As we celebrate 50 years of this incredible technology, we are proud to be part of the innovation that makes the next 50 years even safer and more effective.

Celebrating the Journey of Monoclonal Antibodies 1975–2025

Celebrating the Journey of Monoclonal Antibodies 1975–2025

The Specificity Challenge:As we look to the next 50 years, the stakes are higher than ever. Future trends are toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) for antibody design and reaching "undruggable" targets in the organisms.

How CDI Labs is Boosting the Future:At CDI Labs, we believe the next era of antibody therapeutics requires higher insurance against these late-stage failures. Our HuProt™ and HuScan TRACE™ technologies provide a Proteome-Wide look at how an antibody behaves.

The Specificity Challenge:

As we look to the next 50 years, the stakes are higher than ever. Future trends are toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) for antibody design and reaching "undruggable" targets in the organisms.

How CDI Labs is Boosting the Future:

At CDI Labs, we believe the next era of antibody therapeutics requires higher insurance against these late-stage failures. Our HuProt™ and HuScan TRACE™ technologies provide a Proteome-Wide look at how an antibody behaves.