Biotechnology
A wide ranging scientific field which includes the manipulation of living organisms that results in new products or processes by that cell.
Discovered the Laws Governing the Genetic Inheritance of Traits by Scientific Experimentation
Modern Biotechnology
Molecular Biology - microbiology - biochemistry - cell biology Molecular Genetics Genetic Engineering: Moving a gene from one organism to another - chemical engineering - biomanufacturing
Biotechnology Industry
As of December 2003: There are 1,473 companies & 198,300 employees
300 Biotechnology drug products and vaccines are in clinical trials Biotechnology foods include papaya, corn and soybeans Environmental biotechnology used to clean up hazardous spills Forensic medicine is used for identification by DNA Fingerprinting Regulated by the FDA More than 323 million people worldwide have been helped by Biotech
Biopharmaceuticals Defined
Any biology-based therapeutic that structurally mimics components found in the body Includes: recombinant proteins, antibodies, peptides, antisense nucleotides, therapeutic genes, therapeutic vaccines
Protein Pharmaceuticals Vaccines & Therapeutic Agents Diagnostics: Protein or DNA Based Gene Therapy Stem Cell Research Cancer Treatment
Epogen,neupogen (Amgen) TPA, Insulin (Genentech) Interferon Beta (Biogenidec) Algucerase (Genzyme)
Anemia, chemotherapy effects Blood clot remover, diabetic treatment Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis Gauchers Disease lysosomal storage genetic defect
Gene Therapy
Insertion of a new healthy gene into the organism to provide needed (usually) proteins, hormones etc. Gene is carried into the host by a viral vector that has been disabled Can provide relief for many genetic diseases Problems: Jessie Gelsinger, xscid babies immune responses, and cancer
Cancer Therapy
Factors that inhibit blood vessel growth Toxic chemicals delivered by antibodies to specific cancer cells Killer gene is delivered to tumor cells by specific binding to the cancer cell
Stem Cells
Can be used to replace damaged tissue Examples: Heart cells, Parkinsons disease and Pancreatic cells in Diabetes Ethical issues and lack of cells to work with have slowed this research