| Monoclonal antibody | |
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| Type | Whole antibody |
| Source | Mouse |
| Target | CD20 |
| Clinical data | |
| Trade names | Zevalin |
| AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
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| Routes of administration |
intravenous |
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Ibritumomab tiuxetan, sold under the trade name Zevalin, is a monoclonal antibody radioimmunotherapy treatment for relapsed or refractory, low grade or transformed B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a lymphoproliferative disorder. The drug uses the monoclonal mouse IgG1 antibody ibritumomab (pronounced as <ih bri TYOO mo mab>) in conjunction with the chelator tiuxetan, to which a radioactive isotope (either yttrium-90 or indium-111) is added. Tiuxetan is a modified version of DTPA whose carbon backbone contains an isothiocyanatobenzyl and a methyl group.
The antibody binds to the CD20 antigen found on the surface of normal and malignant B cells (but not B cell precursors), allowing radiation from the attached isotope (mostly beta emission) to kill it and some nearby cells. In addition, the antibody itself may trigger cell death via antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), and apoptosis. Together, these actions eliminate B cells from the body, allowing a new population of healthy B cells to develop from lymphoid stem cells.
Zevalin is supplied as a single dosage kit supplied by IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp. It consists of Ibritumomab covalently conjugated to the metal chelator tiuxetan, which forms a stable complex with indium-111 for imaging and yttrium-90 for therapy.