Detection and treatment of infections with immunoconjugates
AssigneeImmunomedics, Inc.
InventorM. David Goldenberg
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of targeting a diagnostic or therapeutic agent to a focus of infection comprises injecting a patient infected with a pathogen parenterally with an antibody conjugate which specifically binds to an accessible epitope of the pathogen or of a pathogen-associated antigen accreted at the focus of infection, the antibody conjugate further comprising a bound diagnostic or therapeutic agent for detecting, imaging or treating the infection. Polyspecific composite conjugates enhance the efficacy of the method, which is especially useful for treating infections that are refractory towards systemic chemotherapy.
Claims31
A method of targeting a therapeutic agent to a focus of infection, which comprises parenterally injecting a patient infected with a pathogen with an effective amount of a polyspecific antibody-therapeutic agent conjugate;
- wherein said conjugate comprises an immunoreactive composite of a plurality of chemically-linked antibodies or antibody fragments which specifically binds to a plurality of accessible epitopes on a single species of pathogen or of an antigen shed by said pathogen or resulting from the fragmentation or destruction of said pathogen and which is accreted at said focus of infection,
- wherein said chemically-linked antibodies or antibody fragments are linked by virtue of being recombinantly produced, and
- wherein said polyspecific antibody conjugate further comprises a chemically bound therapeutic agent for treating said infection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.