Biotechnology in Lausanne. The Rh D project

A review is given with 2 refs. Hemolytic disease of the newborn is an often fatal condition of some newborn babies due to the immunogenicity of their Rh D pos. erythrocytes in the Rh D neg. mother. This condition can be prevented by injecting anti-Rh D antibodies. The current source of these antibodies is blood from immunized human donors. To avoid problems with limited supply and donor safety, the Rh D project was set up to develop recombinant monoclonal anti-Rh D antibodies as a possible replacement. In a multidisciplinary collaboration between the Zentrallaboratorium Blutspendedienst (ZLB) of the Swiss Red Cross, the Center of Biotechnol. of the University and the EPFL (CBUE), and the Institute of Chem. and Biochem. Engineering (EPFL), co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and ZLB, a candidate monoclonal anti-Rh D antibody was selected, expressed in CHO cells, and a manufg. process for large-scale prodn. was developed. [on SciFinder (R)]