Health & biology · 1974

Monoclonal antibodies

Fusing immune cells with cancer cells produced endless supplies of one precise antibody.

Georges Kohler and Cesar Milstein created hybridomas in Cambridge in 1974 and published their method in 1975. Monoclonal antibodies became diagnostic tools and, from 1986, drugs; they now include many of the best-selling medicines for cancer and autoimmune disease.

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Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

HeLa cell line 1951
Blood types 1901

What it led to 2

CAR-T cell therapy 2017
Pan-RAS inhibitor for pancreatic cancer 2026

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Life expectancy at birth Latest: 73.2 years (2023) Source: Our World in Data