What is "nimotuzumab"

n. A monoclonal antibody used to treat squamous cell carcinoma, head and neck cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and glioma.

Nimotuzumab (h-R3, BIOMAb EGFR, Biocon, India; TheraCIM, CIMYM Biosciences, Canada; Theraloc, Oncoscience, Europe, CIMAher, Center of Molecular Immunology, Havana, Cuba) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that as of 2014 had orphan status in the US and EU for glioma, and marketing approval in India, China, and other countries for squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, and was undergoing several clinical trials.

Like cetuximab, nimotuzumab binds to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a signalling protein that normally controls cell division. In some cancers, this receptor is altered to cause uncontrolled cell division, a hallmark of cancer. These monoclonal antibodies block EGFR and stop the uncontrolled cell division.

It has a chimeric human-mouse h-R3 heavy chain and a human-mouse h-R3 κ-chain.