Biotechnology: Engineering Orgs. for Human Usage - Essay Sample

Introduction

It is important to note that biotechnology is the utilization of various biological processes, systems, or organisms to produce desirable products that are meant to improve the lives of human beings. In broad terms, biotechnology can be defined as the engineering of organisms for the intention of human usage (Abiri et al., 2015). In the current applications, biotechnology processes put more emphasis on establishing hybrid genes that are transferred into organisms in which some or all the organisms are not always present (Bhatia et al., 2015). Traditionally, there existed a primitive form that was mainly practiced by agriculturalists. They established better and quality species of animals and plants through cross-breeding and cross-pollination methods. The various previous forms of biotechnology involved the cultivation of crops, training, and selective breeding of animals as well as the utilization of microorganisms in the production of products like yoghurt, bread, wine, cheese, and beer.

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Having defined biotechnology, it would be essential to understand that pharmaceutical biotechnology is a branch of biotechnology that is still a new and growing field where biotechnology principles are applied to the development of drugs. It should be noted that most of the therapeutic drugs in the modern markets are bioformulations like antibodies, vaccines, as well as nucleic acid products (Abiri et al., 2015). These products are developed through various processes that involve understanding the principles that are primary to health and disease. They are purification and synthesis of the molecules; the basic molecular mechanisms that are guarding the function of the related biomolecules; knowing the shelf life of the given product, its stability, toxicity as well as its immunogenicity; drug delivery system; patenting and lastly, is the clinical trials (Breitling & Takano, 2015). The paper will discuss what pharmaceutical biotechnology is concerning how it works. Also, a detailed and specific explanation will be presented on what the process is used for addressing the current research on this topic. Lastly, the paper will discuss how this topic is currently changing the world as well as the future applications of this topic.

The concepts of biotechnology are applied in the field of pharmaceuticals at the molecular level. They include cloning and DNA typing, gene transfer of animals, plants, microorganisms, and genetic manipulation. Biotech Products, also referred to as biologics, are produced using the method of recombinant technology (Abiri et al., 2015). The pharmaceutical biotechnology industry works by producing drugs and other products that aid animals and people in recovering from any injuries, living a good and healthier lives, and fighting other illnesses and diseases. The pharmaceutical industry has grown from its humble origins to become one of the most lucrative industries in the world today in terms of the revenue base. Pharma/biotech companies are producing mainly three types of products (Breitling & Takano, 2015). They involve drugs that cure medical conditions and vaccines that prevent diseases known as prescription therapeutics. Pharmaceutical biotechnology is also a diagnostics product. These are the tests and devices used to diagnose various diseases. The last product in line with how the technology works are the production of over the counter consumer products like vitamins and drugs. Generally, pharmaceuticals are medicinal drugs manufactured by pharmaceutical companies through the biotechnology process (Breitling & Takano, 2015). Understandably, and as mentioned above, biotechnology is the application of biological research techniques in the development of products as well as processes that result from living organisms.

It is no doubt that there have been new research topics on the subject of pharmaceutical biotechnology. Firstly, it is true that the company is exploring new avenues of coming up with new drug designs and development (Bhatia et al., 2015). Through the process of drug discovery and development, new drugs can be produced. It has been discovered that rational drug design develops fewer compounds as compared to the high-throughput screening. However, it should be noted that these compounds are quite specific to the target and use computer-based modeling to achieve this feature (Abiri et al., 2015).

Another current event in the pharmaceutical biotechnology industry is drug discovery. The process involves identifying new chemical or active pharmaceutical components that are used for treating any particular disease (Abiri et al., 2015). There has been an intensive search in this topic in a bid to find drug-like small molecules, also known as biological therapeutics, termed as a development candidate. It then proceeds to preclinical, and when found to be successful, it proceeds to clinical development and finally becomes a marketed drug.

Also, molecular biotechnology is the current research on this topic. It is the study and the modification of molecules like the proteins and nucleic acids by using laboratory technology (Bhatia et al., 2015). Molecular biotechnology is a growing science in the field of life science combining cell biology, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology, and molecular biology. Other current research topics in pharmaceutical biotechnology are systems biotechnology, and computer-assisted drug design, pharmacokinetics, bio nanotechnology, among others (Abiri et al., 2015).

The extent to which pharmaceutical biotechnology is currently changing the world cannot be understated. For example, environmentally friendly materials and chemicals that the company is producing has significantly reduced atmospheric and environmental disturbance (Abiri et al., 2015). Drugs and therapeutics, nutritional compounds have also improved the lives of human beings. Notably, biofuels alongside novel functional materials have also been produced through pharmaceutical biotechnology. The topic has also been employed in the development of products that have been used to degrade and reduce harmful and toxic chemical substances and agents that have helped to solve environmental issues (Abiri et al., 2015).

Pharmaceutical biotechnology has continued to develop through the input of various scientists (Bhatia et al., 2015). However, it has been noted that this is not going to end soon as there are already plans for the future of this topic. As a result, there are some of the possible areas that will involve the application of pharmaceutical biotechnology. The first area that will involve the application of pharmaceutical biotechnology is the personalized medication which will involve customization of healthcare tailored to the individual patient. In this case, the genetic content of the patient is used in the selection of medical treatments (Bhatia et al., 2015).

Another future application of this topic will be in the biomanufacturing, where biotechnology approaches will be used in the production of commodity products as well as biological molecules (Bhatia et al., 2015). The new biological approach will help in the utilization of bacteria where only synthetic biology has been applied in the creation of artificial means for chemical synthesis that are important in biofuels as well as in the production of complex biochemicals used in antibodies (Bhatia et al., 2015).

Conclusion

In conclusion, pharmaceutical biotechnology is a broad topic that requires more study. However, there has been overwhelming research that has produced convincing results in both plants and human lives. The application of pharmaceutical biotechnology has equally led to convincing outputs. As observed, the paper has outlined what pharmaceutical biotechnology has been used to achieve, alongside citing the current research topics and related events. Further, a discussion on how this topic has changed the world has been stated. Finally, the paper described biomanufacturing and personalized medication as some of the future applications of pharmaceutical biotechnology.

References

Abiri, R., Valdiani, A., Maziah, M., Shaharuddin, N. A., Sahebi, M., Yusof, Z. N. B., ... & Talei, D. (2015). A critical review of the concept of transgenic plants: insights into pharmaceutical biotechnology and molecular farming. Curr. Issues Mol. Biol, 18, 21-42. http://www.caister.com/cimb/v/v18/21.pdf

Bhatia, S., Sharma, K., Dahiya, R., & Bera, T. (2015). Modern applications of plant biotechnology in pharmaceutical sciences. Academic Press. http://repository.fue.edu.eg/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/1811/10381.pdf?sequence=1

Breitling, R., & Takano, E. (2015). Synthetic biology advances for pharmaceutical production. Current opinion in biotechnology, 35, 46-51. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0958166915000233