Anti-Avelumab Polyclonal Antibody

Avelumab with trade name Bavencio, is an FDA-approved drug to treat Merkel cell carcinoma, urothelial carcinoma, and renal cell carcinoma. Avelumab is a whole monoclonal antibody of isotype IgG1 that binds to the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and therefore inhibits binding to its receptor programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) . PD-L1 can be highly expressed on certain tumors, which is thought to lead to reduced activation of immune cells (cytotoxic T-cells in particular) that might otherwise recognize and attack the cancer. Inhibition of PD-L1 by Avelumab can remove this inhibitor effect and thereby engender an anti-tumor response. It is one of several ways to block inhibitory signals related to T-cell activation, a more general strategy known as "immune checkpoint inhibition.