Biopharmaceuticals - Biochemistry and Biotechnology 2nd ed

No. Klas	:	572/Wal/B
Pengarang	:	Gary Walsh
Penerbit	:	John Wiley & Sons Ltd., United of Kingdom, 2003
Kolasi	:	572 p.: tab. ; fig. ; bibl. ; ind.
Digital Copy	:	5
Pinjaman Aktif	:	0
Synopsis	:	Advances in our understanding of the molecular principles underlining both health and disease has revealed the existence of many regulatory polypeptides of significant medical potential. The fact that such polypeptides are produced naturally within the body only in minute quantities initially precluded their large-scale medical application. The development in the 1970s of the twin techniques of genetic engineering and hybridoma technology marked the birth of the modern biotech era. These techniques facilitate the large-scale production of virtually any protein, and proteins of medical interest produced by these methodologies have been coined ‘biopharmaceuticals’. More recent developments in biomedical research highlights the clinical potential of nucleic acid-based therapeutic agents. Gene therapy and anti-sense technology are likely to become a medical reality within a decade. The term ‘biopharmaceutical’ now also incorporates the polynucleotide sequences utilized for such purposes. This book attempts to provide a balanced overview of the biopharmaceutical industry, not only in terms of categorizing the products currently available, but also illustrating how these drugs are produced and brought to market. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to the topic, and also focuses upon several ‘traditional’ pharmaceutical substances isolated (initially at least) from biological sources. This serves as a backdrop for the remaining chapters, which focus almost exclusively upon recently developed biopharmaceutical products. The major emphasis is placed upon polypeptide-based therapeutic agents, while the potential of nucleic acid-based drugs is discussed in the final chapter.