Biotechnology in Medicine / Pharmaceuticals

In the field of medicine, biotechnology finds applications in the following major areas:

* pharmacogenomics;
* drug production;
* gene therapy;
* genetic testing

Here on this page, we’ll take a closer look at pharmacogenomics and pharmaceuticals.

First, what is pharmacogenomics? It’s the study into how genetic makeup – and in particular, genetic inheritance of an individual affects his or her body’s reaction to drugs. It revolves around the relationship between genetics and pharmaceuticals. The ultimate goal of pharmacogenomics is to be able to design / produce “personalized” drugs that are adapted to each person’s specific genetic makeup.

In addition to the tailoring drugs to best suit an individual, there are additional benefits to pharmacogenomics, including more accurate methods of determining appropriate drug dosages, which maximizes the value of the medicine while decreasing the chances of overdose along with improvements in the drug approval and discovery process. Finally, we can expect better vaccines via pharmacogenomics, vaccines that will trigger the immune response without risk of infection. These vaccines are sure to be inexpensive and easy to store.

Pharmaceutical Products

Traditionally, pharmaceutical drugs have been found mainly through trial and error, and usually they’re relatively simple molecules. Biopharmaceuticals ups the ante a bit, as they’re large biological molecules known as proteins.

Often, modern biotechnology is associated with the use of genetically-altered microorganisms such as E. coli or yeast for the production of substances like antibiotics and synthetic insulin. Modern biotechnology can also refer to transgenic plans and animals. One particularly promising new biotechnology application is the nascent development pharmaceuticals that are plant-made.

Whew! All this heady biotechnological talk makes me want to take a break and play slots at my favorite online casinos that accept US players.