What Are Biopharmaceuticals?
Penicillin, oxytocin, and insulin come from nature, not a lab.
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Transcript
To treat disease, scientists often look to biologically-produced substances to make medicine.
These biologically-derived medicines are called biopharmaceuticals.
Some biopharmaceuticals start in the environment, like the penicillium fungus--a common mold.
But it is a mold that Scottish scientist, Alexander Fleming, in 1928, realized stopped the spread of bacteria.
The fungus’s individual molecules, known as penicillin, interact with bacteria by stopping its cell walls from forming during cell division.
Since the bacteria can’t multiply, they die. For this reason, penicillin became a leading biopharmaceutical for treating bacterial infections.
Other biopharmaceuticals are created in labs from biological substances that occur naturally inside of humans.
Oxytocin is a protein hormone released during pregnancy to aid in labor and delivery.
In 1954, it became the first synthesized polypeptide, meaning scientists took its biological components and assembled it in a lab.
This biopharmaceutical form of oxytocin is used by medical professionals to induce labor in slow deliveries.
Insulin is another protein hormone that naturally occurs in the human body.
It helps cells absorb sugar from the blood, so that it can be broken down for energy. But in some people, the body fails to make enough insulin. This results in diabetes.
Scientists can produce the insulin protein in a lab. Using the technology of genetic engineering, they take a human insulin gene and insert it into E. coli bacteria. When the bacteria reproduce, the inserted gene produces human insulin. This can be harvested and then packaged and sold for human use.
Biological sources of medicines abound. Some come from the human body, while others come from nature. Scientists continually search for new sources, and refine methods of production, to produce more life-saving biopharmaceuticals for treating infections and disease.
These biologically-derived medicines are called biopharmaceuticals.
Some biopharmaceuticals start in the environment, like the penicillium fungus--a common mold.
But it is a mold that Scottish scientist, Alexander Fleming, in 1928, realized stopped the spread of bacteria.
The fungus’s individual molecules, known as penicillin, interact with bacteria by stopping its cell walls from forming during cell division.
Since the bacteria can’t multiply, they die. For this reason, penicillin became a leading biopharmaceutical for treating bacterial infections.
Other biopharmaceuticals are created in labs from biological substances that occur naturally inside of humans.
Oxytocin is a protein hormone released during pregnancy to aid in labor and delivery.
In 1954, it became the first synthesized polypeptide, meaning scientists took its biological components and assembled it in a lab.
This biopharmaceutical form of oxytocin is used by medical professionals to induce labor in slow deliveries.
Insulin is another protein hormone that naturally occurs in the human body.
It helps cells absorb sugar from the blood, so that it can be broken down for energy. But in some people, the body fails to make enough insulin. This results in diabetes.
Scientists can produce the insulin protein in a lab. Using the technology of genetic engineering, they take a human insulin gene and insert it into E. coli bacteria. When the bacteria reproduce, the inserted gene produces human insulin. This can be harvested and then packaged and sold for human use.
Biological sources of medicines abound. Some come from the human body, while others come from nature. Scientists continually search for new sources, and refine methods of production, to produce more life-saving biopharmaceuticals for treating infections and disease.
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