Genmab's antibodies are developed at our state of the art laboratories
located in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Our team of highly experienced and
talented scientists is dedicated to evaluating new disease targets based on
stringent criteria. This discovery team uses their expertise to
characterize new targets and assess new indications for known targets. To
ensure we select the best possible antibody candidates to become potential
products, Genmab employs a variety of innovative techniques and processes.
Genmab has industrialized our technology platform to generate monoclonal
antibodies by setting up a sophisticated, state-of-the-art system to
generate, select, produce and evaluate human antibody therapeutics. We use
electrofusion to increase production of hybridomas at a rate over 20 times
greater than traditional methods. We use novel robotics to rapidly select
antibody producing hybridomas and culture cells in a well controlled and
standardized manner. We have furthermore optimized antibody screening and
characterization methods.
Genmab's Antibody Discovery Engine
Two of the high tech instruments Genmab employs to help select the best
product candidates are the micrOTOF and Cello machines.
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micrOTOF
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Featuring excellent resolution and accuracy, the micrOTOF provides
powerful exact mass measurements of large proteins such as
antibodies, by combining time-of-flight technology with innovative
detection technologies.
Antibodies enter the micrOTOF via a needle tip and are present in
liquid drops. An electrical charge is added to the molecules in the
liquid when they leave the needle tip. The liquid is vaporized and
after complete evaporation, the positively charged antibodies enter
the time of flight tube of the mass spectrometer. With high speed
they then rush onto a sensitive plate called the detector. The time
of flight of the antibodies is measured and the mass of the antibody
can be very precisely determined.
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Cello
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Antibodies with the proper characteristics need to be selected in a
process known as lead clone selection. To this end, a type of
immune cell called B cells are isolated and fused with a special
type of fusion partner, resulting in hybridoma cells that can
produce antibodies for indefinite periods of time. To select the
hybridoma cell that produces antibodies with the desired
characteristics, cells are plated out in different wells. These
plates are then moved to the Cello.
The Cello is a high-throughput, fully integrated imaging and
culture system which can handle very large hybridoma libraries. It
can function day and night, seven days a week, and has optimal
process qualities. In the Cello, cells grow in wells and produce
significant amounts of antibodies in a highly controlled manner.
These antibodies are then ready to be tested for their specificity
and functional characteristics.
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