The name reveals the compound's structure:
1. Ultimate syllable:
"-mab" = monoclonal antibody, e.g., basiliximab
"-cept" = receptor fusion protein, e.g., alefacept
2. Penultimate syllable before "mab":
"-xi-" = chimeric (mouse or rat origin immunoglobulin variable regions; human constant regions) "-zu-" = humanized (chimeric monoclonal antibody genetically engineered, so that the variable region sequences outside the complementarity determining regions [i.e. combining site] are human) "-u-" = fully human (selected from an in vitro human phage display library or from a mouse engineered to have human immunoglobulin genes) "-mo-" = murine
3. Antepenultimate syllable:
"-li-" or "-lim-" = immune system (not consistently used)
Thus:
chimeric human/mouse antibodies are ximabs, e.g., abciximab humanized antibodies are zumabs, e.g., alemtuzumab fully human antibodies are umabs, e.g., adalimumab murine antibodies are momabs, e.g., ibritumomab
Last updated: August 2, 2012