Clinical research landscape of monoclonal antibodies

Overview

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are artificial proteins that mimic the body’s natural defences and represent an important medical innovation in modern medicine. They are of proven efficacy in various therapeutic areas such as cancer, immune diseases and infectious diseases, and have become the standard of care for several medical conditions in high-income countries, demonstrating improved outcomes over legacy treatments. This report uses data from WHO’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) and Global Observatory on Health R&D to provide a comprehensive perspective on the state of monoclonal antibody clinical trials over the period of 2014-2023 (2 066 trials), to understand current clinical research, identify gaps for targeted R&D, and to promote access to mAbs.