Development of antibody surrogates for the treatment of cancers and autoimmune disease

Some therapeutic monoclonal antibodies function by focusing the killing power of the immune system on particular cellular targets, a process known as antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). There is considerable interest in developing small-molecule therapeutics that utilize this mechanism of action and so act as a kind of antibody surrogate. Progress and challenges in this interesting field are reviewed here.