Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals

Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine.

Of the many different definitions available, the one formulated by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is one of the broadest:

"Biotechnology is any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use."

Or another definition can be: Biotechnology is the manipulation of organisms to do practical things and to provide useful products.

One section of biotechnology is the directed use of organisms for the manufacture of organic products (examples include beer, milk products, and skin). Naturally present bacteria are utilized by the mining industry in bioleaching. Biotechnology is also used to recycle, treat waste, clean up sites contaminated by industrial activities (bioremediation), and produce biological weapons.

There are also applications of biotechnology that do not use living organisms. Examples are DNA microarrays used in genetics and radioactive tracers used in medicine.

Modern biotechnology is often associated with the use of genetically altered microorganisms such as E. coli or yeast for the production of substances like insulin or antibiotics. It can also refer to transgenic animals or transgenic plants, such as Bt corn. Genetically altered mammalian cells, such as Chinese Hamster ovarian cells, are also widely used to manufacture pharmaceuticals. Another promising new biotechnology application is the development of plant-made pharmaceuticals.

Biotechnology is also commonly associated with breakthroughs in new medical therapies and diagnostic devices.

Sub-fields of biotechnology

There are a number of jargon terms for sub-fields of biotechnology.

Red biotechnology is biotechnology applied to medical processes. Some examples are the designing of organisms to produce antibiotics, and the engineering of genetic cures to diseases through genomic manipulation.

White biotechnology, also known as grey biotechnology, is biotechnology applied to industrial processes. An example is the designing of an organism to produce a useful chemical. White biotechnology tends to consume less in resources than traditional processes when used to produce industrial goods.

Green biotechnology is biotechnology applied to agricultural processes. An example is the designing of an organism to grow under specific environmental conditions or in the presence (or absence) of certain agricultural chemicals. One hope is that green biotechnology might produce environmentally more friendly solutions than traditional industrial agriculture. An example of this is the engineering of a plant to express a pesticide, thereby eliminating the need for external application of pesticides. Whether or not green biotechnology products such as this are ultimately more environmentally friendly is a topic of considerable debate.

Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field which addresses biological problems using computational techniques. The field is also often referred to as computational biology. It plays a key role in various areas like functional genomics, structural genomics, and proteomics amongst others, and forms a key component in biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector.

The term blue biotechnology has also been used to describe the marine and aquatic applications of biotechnology, but its use is relatively rare.

Biotechnology timeline

• 8000 BC Collecting of seeds for replanting. Evidence that Babylonians, Egyptians and Romans used selective breeding (artificial selection) practices to improve livestock.
• 6000 BC Brewing beer, fermenting wine, baking bread with help of yeast
• 4000 BC Chinese made yogurt and cheese with lactic-acid-producing bacteria
• 1500 Plant collecting around the world
• 1675 Microorganisms discovered (using first microscope)
• 1856 Gregor Mendel discovered the laws of inheritance
• 1919 Karl Ereky, a Hungarian engineer, first used the word biotechnology
• 1953 James D. Watson and Francis Crick describe the structure of DNA
• 1975 Method for producing monoclonal antibody developed by Kohler and Milstein
• 1980 Modern biotech is characterized by recombinant DNA technology. The prokaryote model, E. coli, is used to produce insulin and other medicine, in human form. (About 5% of diabetics are allergic to animal insulins available before)
• 1980 A viable brewing yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae 1026 acts a modifier of the microflora in the rumen of cows and digestive tract of horses)
• 1984 Nutrigenomics as applied science in animal nutrition
• 1994 FDA approves of the first GM food from Calgene: "Flavr Savr" tomato
• 2000 Completion of the Human Genome Project

Biotechnology firms

The top 10 publicly-traded biotechnology companies, ranked by 2003 sales, are:

1. Amgen
2. Genentech
3. Serono
4. Biogen Idec
5. Chiron Corporation
6. Genzyme
7. MedImmune
8. Pfizer
9. Millennium Pharmaceuticals
10. Applied Biosystems

Key visionaries and personalities in biotechnology sector

Ireland

Dr. Thomas Peasre Lyons...

USA

Kate Jacques, David Botstein, Craig Venter, Sidney Brenner, Eric Lander, Leroy Hood, Robert Langer, Henry I. Miller, Roger Beachy, William Rutter, George Rathmann, Robert Swanson...

Canada

To be updated...

Europe

Paul D Kemp...

Asia Pacific

See also

• Agrobacterium
• Biochemistry
• Bioengineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Bioreactor
• Biorobotics
• EU Directive on the patentability of biotechnological inventions
• Eugenics
• Expression vector
• Genetic engineering
• Genetically modified food
• Industrial biotechnology
• Intein
• List of environment topics
• List of publications in biology#biotechnology
• Molecular biology
• Tissue Engineering
• Substantial equivalence

Compare with

• Biomimetics

Books

• The Frankenfood Myth: How Protest and Politics Threaten the Biotech Revolution (Praeger, 2004) by Gregory Conko and Henry I. Miller, M.D.

External links

• Costa Rican Biotechnology Society
• Chile's Biotechnology Society
• FDA Website
• Biotech Research Training
• Biotech News
• Careers in Biotechnology
• Tools and Solutions for biotechnology
• Clinical Research Services
• Biotechnology Companies Listings
• International Clinical Research Services and Corporate Trainings
• Biotechnology Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Biotechnology Glossary / Definitions
• List of Food and Drugs Regulatory Agencies
• Biotechnology: Frequently asked questions
• Arizona Biotech
• Biotechnology News - Biology News Net
• Council for Responsible Genetics
• Trinational Biotechnology Degree: Ecole Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (ESBS)
• FAO Agriculture Department and its SOFA report on Agricultural Biotechnology focussing on the impacts of "Green" Biotechnology
• Agricultural Biotechnology – A summary for non-specialists of the above FAO report by GreenFacts.

Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon (φάρμακον) meaning drug, and logos (λόγος) meaning science) is the study of how chemical substances interact with living systems. If substances have medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals. The field encompasses drug composition and properties, interactions, toxicology, therapy, and medical applications and antipathogenic capabilities. The science is considered to have been invented by Arabic physicians in Baghdad during the Golden Age of Islam; pharmacopeas were penned in Arabic as early as the 7th century (Amin A. Khairallah: Outline of Arabic Contributions to Medicine: Chapter X, Chemistry and Pharmacy. 1946, ).

Development of medication is a vital concern to medicine, but also has strong economical and political implications. To protect the consumer and prevent abuse, many governments regulate the manufacture, sale, and administration of medication. In the United States, the main regulatory body is the Food and Drug Administration through its publication of the USP.

Pharmacology as a science is practiced by pharmacologists. Subdisciplines are clinical pharmacology (the medical field of medication effects on humans), neuro- and psychopharmacology (effects of medication on behavior and nervous system functioning), and theoretical pharmacology.