Safe handling of monoclonal antibodies: Too large to be hazardous?

It has been argued that the larger molecular weight of hazardous monoclonal antibodies may prevent their dermal absorption via occupational exposure. However, this assertion does not seem to be supported by direct evidence. Although the larger molecular weight may render monoclonal antibodies less p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of oncology pharmacy practice Vol. 24; no. 3; p. 218
Main Authors de Lemos, Mário L, Badry, Nadine, Kletas, Victoria, Fabbro, Joan, Tew, Amber
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.04.2018
Subjects
Monoclonal antibodies
risk assessment
occupational exposure
safety
health personnel
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Summary:It has been argued that the larger molecular weight of hazardous monoclonal antibodies may prevent their dermal absorption via occupational exposure. However, this assertion does not seem to be supported by direct evidence. Although the larger molecular weight may render monoclonal antibodies less probable to achieve therapeutic systemic level through dermal absorption, the concern in occupational health is whether these drugs can possibly attain a detectable level through repeated dermal exposure. Currently, there is no direct evidence to support a particular molecular weight above which a drug cannot achieve a detectable level following repeated occupational exposure. Therefore, the precautionary principle would dictate that repeated exposure of healthcare workers to hazardous monoclonal antibodies should be kept to a minimum.
ISSN:1477-092X
DOI:10.1177/1078155217698846