Orthoclone OKT
®3 (
muromonab-CD3) is a prescription medication approved to treat transplant rejection in people who have received a kidney, liver, or heart transplant. It is considered an immunosuppressant because it decreases the activity of the immune system. Orthoclone
OKT3 is sometimes simply referred to as OKT3.
Who Makes This Medication?
Orthoclone OKT3 is manufactured by Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P.
How Does Orthoclone OKT3 Work?
Transplant rejection occurs when the immune system recognizes a transplanted organ as foreign and attacks it. T-lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell, sometimes simply called T-cells) play a major role in transplant rejection.
Orthoclone OKT3 is a laboratory-made antibody (a protein normally produced by the immune system) that recognizes and attaches to a specific protein found on T-cells (known as the cell differentiation cluster 3, or CD3). When Orthoclone OKT3 binds to CD3, it blocks the ability of T-cells to function properly. Because the T-cells cannot function properly, they are unable to attack the transplanted organ, and transplant rejection is stopped.
HealthSavvy Sign In
|
