Minretumomab (CC49) is a mouse monoclonal antibody that was designed for the treatment of cancers that express the TAG-72 antigen. This includes breast, colon, lung, and pancreatic cancers. Apparently, it never got past Phase I clinical trials for this purpose.
A wide range of derivatives has been used in pharmaceutical research. Examples include chimeric and humanized minretumomab, as well as a fusion protein of a minretumomab single-chain variable fragment and the enzyme beta-lactamase.
Iodine (<sup>125</sup>I) minretumomab is an iodine-125 radiolabelled derivative that was developed for the detection of tumours in radioimmunoassays such as CA 72-4.
Radiolabelled minretumomab has also been tested for the treatment of solid tumours, but without success. Iodine (<sup>131</sup>I) and lutetium (<sup>177</sup>Lu) minretumomab, for example, were shown to induce human anti-mouse antibodies; no tumour response was observed in Phase I and II clinical trials.