Monoclonal antibodies were developed three decades ago. Today they are used in a wide range of applications, including the targeted therapy of human neoplasia. There are now eight monoclonal antibody based therapeutics approved for the treatment of cancer, and, monoclonals represent one of the fastest growing categories of new drug approvals in oncology. A new class of molecules, which like monoclonal antibodies, display both specificity and high affinity for their target, is now emerging. These drugs are Aptamers, agents that, despite their functional parallels with antibodies, are nucleic acid molecules rather than glycoproteins. These aptamers have a number of properties that make them attractive as a new class of therapeutic molecules.
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