Introduction

The first monoclonal antibodies were described in 1975 (Kohler and Milstein, 1975, 1976), and the first antibodies made with particular applications in mind followed in 1977-78 (Barnstable et al., 1978; Galfre et al., 1977; White et al., 1978; Williams et al., 1977). The potential use of monoclonal antibodies as reagents was soon appreciated widely, leading to rapid growth in the field. Some laboratories turned their entire resources over to the preparation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies, a new sector of the reagents and biotechnology industry developed around monoclonal antibodies, and many immunoassays were greatly improved by the use of monoclonal antibodies. There are now entire fields of research and diagnosis which would be impossible without monoclonal antibodies (the detailed analysis of leukocyte phenotype (Knapp et al., 1989; McMichael et al., 1987; Schlossman et al., 1994) provides just one example). The therapeutic application of monoclonal antibodies, whilst still limited in scope, promises to break its substantial shackles and realize the potential forecast by its proponents.