Given that its accomplishments include the domestication of plants and animals, biotechnology is practically synonymous with civilization itselfOver the last couple of centuries, a more systematic approach has been devised.

An explosion of discoveries in the 19th and 20th centuries ushered in the modern era of biotechnologyLearning about everything from enzymes to hormones to vitamins meant medical researchers could deliberately design drugs to target specific problems. The new information also showed them how to go about producing these medications by tapping into natural biological processes.

The main steps of biotech medication development consist of determining the biologic source of a desired medication, mass-producing the source, extracting and purifying the medication, and preparing the medication for use.

The introduction of genetic engineering has altered the first step in creating biotech medicine. Instead of simply identifying a biological entity that produces the desired substance, an organism is literally created for this purpose.

For more sophisticated pharmaceuticals, engineered animal cells are used instead of bacteria.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: How are Biotechnology Medicines Made?

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Shortcuts? Insulin, other medicines developed faster with genetic engineering - Genetic Literacy Project