NIST’s ‘Living Reference Material’ Could Accelerate R&D of Lifesaving Biological Drugs

• A fast-growing category of drugs called monoclonal antibodies offers advanced treatments for breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, colorectal cancer and many other conditions.
• To support drug manufacturers, NIST researchers have developed the first living reference material that produces monoclonal antibodies.
• The NIST reference material, called NISTCHO, will help the biopharmaceutical industry develop new drugs more quickly and ensure that they are safe and effective.

A type of drug called monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can halt the growth of breast tumors, block the effects of rheumatoid arthritis, and treat many other diseases, from leukemia and colon cancer to asthma and osteoporosis. To manufacture these drugs, pharmaceutical companies genetically engineer living cells, grow those cells in large bioreactors, and harvest the mAb proteins that the cells produce.

To support the manufacturing of these drugs, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have collaborated with biotech company MilliporeSigma and the National Institute ...