Cancer is the leading cause of death in the world, killing more people than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Today, leading anti-cancer drugs originate from monoclonal antibodies, which were first created in mice in the late 1970s. Antibodies are used by the human immune system to identify invaders and fight viruses or disease. Researchers Cary L. Queen and Harold Edwin Selick were able to humanise antibodies to contain at least 90% human components, making them radically more effective in warding off cancer and other diseases. In addition, they developed a system for the large-scale production and clinical use of such humanised antibodies, ushering in a new age of targeted cancer treatments.
