Based on international nonproprietary naming conventions for monoclonal antibodies, the suffix -ximab indicates that the antibody is:

• A Fully human, produced in transgenic mice
• B Humanised, with only murine complementarity-determining regions retained
• C Murine, derived entirely from mouse hybridoma sequences
• D Chimeric, containing murine variable regions fused to human constant regions ✓

Explanation

The stem -ximab denotes a chimeric antibody, exemplified by rituximab and infliximab, in which murine variable regions are grafted onto human Fc regions. Humanised antibodies take -zumab (trastuzumab, bevacizumab), fully human antibodies take -umab (adalimumab, panitumumab), and purely murine antibodies end in -momab. This convention explains the relative immunogenicity differences between these classes.

Reference: Katzung's Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, 16th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.