Workshop on "Monoclonal Antibodies -an emerging era in biologicals: Principles of production, applications in immunodiagnostics and therapeutics" held at IAV on 8th and 9th December, 2022
The two-day workshop on “Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), an emerging era in biologicals: Principles of production, applications in immunodiagnostics and therapeutics” was held at at Institute of Advanced Virology campus at Thonnakkal on 8th and 9th December, 2022. The workshop was jointly organized by the Institute of Advanced Virology, Govt. of Kerala and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR and included presentations from investigators from various domains like academia, clinicians, public health bodies, biomedical engineers, industry, and regulatory agencies working in preclinical or clinical development of mAbs. Hands-on training in various modules on monoclonal antibodies was also provided to the attendees of the workshop. More than 200 Participants from different colleges and universities across India actively participated in the scientific discussions and the training sections. The event included stalls from various R&D companies detailing their services in monoclonal antibody production.
The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. E Sreekumar, Director of I.A.V. who explained the current scenario of virology and its application in the post-pandemic world. Workshop convenor Dr. Rajesh Kumar described the significance of recombinant antibody research and its importance for disease management. Padmashri Dr. Lalit Kumar, Oncology and B.M.T. Department Chairperson, Artemis Hospital, Gurgaon & former Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Science (A.I.I.M.S.) started the presentation section with his experience in the application of monoclonal antibodies in patients and its advantages compared to conventional therapy. Dr. Devinder Sehgal, Staff Scientist, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, explained the role of neutralizing antibodies and the molecular biology of host-pathogen interaction.
Dr.Tripti Shrivastava, Principal Scientist-I, THSTI, Faridabad, Haryana, presented the role of various antigens as immunogens and their application. Followed by Prof. Deepak T Nair, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad, explained the structural elucidation of antibodies and its application in understanding the functional study of monoclonal antibodies.
Dr. Mohanan Valiya Veettil, Senior Principal Scientist-F, Institute of Advanced Virology, explained monoclonal antibodies against viral diseases, followed by Dr. Rajesh Kumar Kalra, Principal Scientist E-II, Institute of Advanced Virology, who detailed the techniques for isolation of monoclonal antibodies. Dr. Chandresh Sharma, Assistant Professor, C.S.J.M. University, Kanpur, provides the basic overview of monoclonal antibodies, followed by Dr. Chitra Arvind, Intellectual Property Rights Expert, New Delhi, who presented on Intellectual property Rights (I.P.R.) for monoclonal antibodies.
The event also includes presentations from R&D companies such as B.D. Biosciences, Genscript, and Biorad. Technical session by B.D. Biosciences showcased their latest single-cell analysis and microwell-based single-cell partitioning system, the newest advancement in the field of monoclonal antibody production. Dr. Harish Srinivasan from Biorad explained the application of Multiplex suspension Immunoassays for proper protein quantification. Dr. Subir Biswas from Genscript presented the latest trends in Integrated Drug discovery.
The hands on training on following modules was imparted to the participants of the workshop on 9th December.
(a) Basics of Hybridoma Fusion and Demonstration
(b) Immunology behind mAb rearrangement, sequence analysis, isotype determination and paratope identification
(c) High yield expression of mAbs in Expi293F system
(d) Purification of mAbs using protein A/G affinity column
(e) Characterization of antigen antibody interaction by ELISA and isotyping of HybridomamAbs
(f) Purification of antigenic bait for mAb isolation
(g) Basics of animal cell culture (Hybridoma Generation)
(h) Basic Molecular Biology Concepts (Hybridoma and Phage Display Technology)
(i) How to file Intellectual Property Rights for mAbs
(j) Antigen Antibody interaction by Bio-layer Interferometry
(k) High throughput purification of mAbs
(l) Purification of antigenic bait for mAbs isolation by FPLC