Basic science for the clinician 46 - Molecular biologic agents in development: Possible clinical consequences to rheumatologists

The molecular biologic revolution has been upon us for only a few decades, and yet diagnostics and therapeutics have been, well, revolutionized. No aspect of the practice of rheumatology has been left untouched and our field is virtually unrecognizable compared with only a decade ago. No list of molecular biologic can be complete, as there are agents in development that have not yet seen clinical trials, the length and width of the "pipelines" of the various companies and academic allies being what they are. What follows is a brief review of some of the approaches that can and are being taken and some of the molecules already making some noise. Small molecules will not be reviewed, the emphasis here being on antibodies and larger molecules, cytokines among them.