From the point of view of the professions involved in the development of this sector, the figure of the pharmaceutical biotechnologist has become increasingly established over the years, operating in the field of medical biotechnology. When employed in the field of research, he or she is dedicated to the discovery, extraction and manufacture of active ingredients, the production of vaccines and the development of new medicines. When working in pharmaceutical companies, he or she designs, manages and controls industrial processes for the production and quality control of biotechnological or innovative medicines.
As for the academic training of the pharmaceutical biotechnologist , a degree in pharmacy is required, followed by a specialization in biotechnology, which can be improved through an MBA in healthcare & pharma , something that opens the doors to the best job positions in this constantly expanding field.
biotechnology
Research into new therapies is the main segment of medical biotechnology. In this regard, we recall insulin produced transgenically using the recombinant DNA technique (DNA sequence obtained artificially by combining genetic material from different origins), inserting the human gene into a bacterium, Escherichia coli , to obtain quantities of insulin identical to that produced by humans.
Before the discovery of transgenic production, insulin was peru whatsapp data extracted from the pancreas of pigs and cattle and was often rejected by patients, unlike insulin produced using medical biotechnology, which uses the human gene and is fully tolerated. Transgenic insulin was first obtained in 1977 thanks to the work of two American scientists and was marketed in 1982.
It was the first patent filed for a drug obtained through genetic engineering techniques , approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American government agency that regulates food and pharmaceutical products. Later came the growth hormone (somatotropin) for the treatment of certain forms of dwarfism, interferons to combat certain viruses and regress tumors, and antibiotics and vaccines on an industrial scale.
Modern biotechnology: new frontiers in science and medicine
In the medical field, biotechnologies have achieved important successes, contributing to an increasingly early and specific diagnosis, which is essential for all types of pathologies. In fact, the application of biotechnologies in diagnosis is leading to the development of increasingly precise and less invasive methods, increasingly oriented towards predictive and personalized medicine, which opens the possibility of implementing specific, tailor-made medical treatments.
Modern biology's advances in DNA research and the successes of genetic engineering represent new frontiers in science and medicine. The field of gene therapy is perhaps the most fascinating segment: conceived following the progress in molecular biology and genetic engineering from the 1980s onwards, it consists of transferring one or more healthy genes into a diseased cell, with the aim of curing a pathology caused by the absence or defect of one or more genes.