TPO versus TPO: the good, the bad, and the to be determined

The first-generation thrombopoietic agents, recombinant human thrombopoietin (rhTPO) and pegylated human recombinant megakaryocyte growth and development factor (PEG-rHuMGDF), were developed following identification and cloning of human thrombopoietin (TPO) in 1994.1, 2 Unfortunately, formation of cross-reactive antibodies to PEG-rHuMGDF capable of neutralising endogenous TPO in a minority of patients halted clinical development of these agents...