Ontology engineering

in this issue© 2010 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.Linking antibody half-life to efficacyMutations that improve the affinity of antibodies for the neonatalFc receptor (FcRn) are known to enhance antibody longevityin vivo. Nonetheless, it has never been demonstrated that prolongedPatent roundupBringing a five-year patent dispute to an end, a federal court inBoston has ruled that Roche’s Mircera (methoxy polyethyleneglycolepoetin beta) does, indeed, infringe on Amgen’s patentsand slapped the Swiss drugmaker with a permanent injunctionbanning sales in the US market. Roche has agreed to a limitedlicense agreement with Amgen that will allow it to sell Mircera inthe US until 2014. [News, p. 112]LMTo solve the conflict between free access to scientific discoveryand intellectual property rights, Bentwich proposes a provisionalpatented paper application procedure that could promote earlierdisclosure of novel scientific knowledge and justify the requirementto grant inexpensive licenses for using inventions for theadvancement of other research. [Patent Article, p. 137] MFRecent patent applications in antibody fragments.[New patents, p. 141]MFexposure to Fc-engineered therapeutic antibodies necessarilyenhances in vivo activity. Desjarlais and colleagues use cynomolgusmonkeys and a humanized transgenic mouse model to show that thereduction in antibody clearance caused by increased antibody affinityfor FcRn enhances the antitumor activities of antibodies targetedagainst either an internalizing surface receptor (epidermal growthfactor receptor) or a cytokine (vascular endothelial growth factor).The enhanced pharmacokinetics associated with Fc-engineered variantsmay translate to greater convenience for patients, reduced costsand higher efficacy. [Brief Communications, p. 157] PHNext month in• Screening for drugs that reconfigure metabolism• Leukemia stem cell quiescence and resistance tochemotherapy• Directed evolution of an MRI contrast agent fordopamine• Autophagy harnessed to clear mutant huntingtinproteinvivolume 28 number 2 february 2010 nature biotechnology