Biotech & medicine.ppt

 Introduction
 Definition
 Applications
 Drug production
 Pharmacogenomics
 Gene therapy
 Genetic testing
 Questions

 Scientific processes to get new organisms
or new products from organisms.
 It is the use of living organisms or processes
to develop products useful for mankind.

 Has been existing since centuries
 Begin with the first action of human on life
for his welfare
 Term coined by a Hungarian engineer Karl
Ereky
 Modern biotechnology started in California in
1970’s

 Although it seems like a
new thing, biotechnology
has actually been around for
a while:
◦ Domesticated plants and
animals are the result of
selective breeding
◦ Using yeast to make bread rise
◦ Using bacteria or yeast to
ferment grapes into wine

Any technique that uses living organisms or
substances from those organisms to make or
modify a product, to improve plants or
animals or to develop microorganisms for
specific uses

 Green biotechnology (agricultural
applications)
 Red biotechnology (medical applications)
 Blue biotechnology (aquatic applications)
 White biotechnology (industrial applications)

 The use of biological methods to optimize
industrial processes
 Applied by manufacturers of laundry detergents
 Includes research for new enzymes (proteins that
remove oily and protein-based stains)
 Enzymes that work under extreme conditions
(wash temperatures of 20°C or 90°C)
 This often entails modifying the enzymes of
microorganisms for these processes

 Use of biotechnological techniques in
agriculture
 Vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem and
can cause blindness at a young age if left
untreated
 Golden rice was genetically modified to
produce beta-carotene (a precursor of
vitamin A that the body converts to vitamin
A). A diet including golden rice can thus help
to raise vitamin A levels

 Also called red biotechnology
 It includes:
o Production of medicines and pharmaceutical
products for treating or diagnosing disorders
o Designing of organisms to manufacture
antibiotics and vaccines
o Engineering of genetic defects through
genomic manipulation
o Use in forensics through DNA profiling

 Production of human insulin from non-
human sources.
 Production of hormones like Interferons,
Cytokinins, Steroids and human growth
hormones.
 Gene therapy for prevention and control of
diseases like hemophilia cystic fibrosis
 Development of vaccines and antibodies for
rabies, HIV, etc.

 Drug production
 Pharmacogenomics
 Gene therapy
 Genetic testing

 It is the process in which pharmaceutical
products are produced through application of
biotechnological techniques
 Medicines are produced for:
• Diagnosis
• Cure treatments
• Prevention of diseases

 Producing medicines through:
 Isolating enzymes
 Genetically engineering enzymes

 Recently, plants are being genetically
modified to produce pharmaceutical products
instead of their natural compounds
 For Example:
A drug Elelyso for treating Gaucher is being
produced by genetically engineering carrots

 INSULIN:
Human insulin is being produced using genetic
engineering technique known as humulin and it
is used for the treatment of diabetes that is low
sugar level in the blood…..

 INTERFERON:
o Interferon interfere in transmission of viral genome
from one cell to another and it also inhibits the cell
division of abnormal cells.
o Interferon produced using the recombinant DNA
technology is used to treat cancer patients.
o Interferon improved the quality of life of cancer
patients…..

 HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE:
Since dwarfism is caused by growth hormone
deficiency so it can be diagnose by HGH
testing.
So HGH is used for the treatment of dwarfism
due to hypo pituitary activity.

 Pharma = Drug or Medicine
 Genomics = The study of genes
 Studying response of genetic make up
of an individual to a drug or
pharmaceutical products

 “One-size-fits-all drugs” only work for about 60
percent of the population at best. And the other 40
percent of the population increase their risks
of adverse drug reaction because their genes do not do
what is intended of them.

 Helps in the development of tailor made medicines
 Ensures more appropriate methods of
determining drug dosages
 Improve process of drug discovery and approval
 Obtaining of better and safer vaccination
 Decrease in the overall cost of Health Care
 Advanced Screening for Disease

 Herceptin
 Gleevec
 Erbitux
 Tumoricide

Opinion:
 This sort of card would initially (~2025?) include
mostly information related to drug metabolizing
enzymes.
 Around ~2050 it might include an entire individual
genome
SMART CARD
(Confidential)

Some barriers faced are:
 Complexity of finding gene variation that
affect drug response
 Limited drug alternatives
 Disincentives for drug companies to make
multiple pharmacogenomic products
 Educating healthcare providers

 The process in which a faulty gene is
removed or replaced with its healthy copy to
restore the normal function of that gene

 Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease
with a healthy copy of the gene
 Inactivating or “knocking out” a mutated gene
that is functioning improperly
 Introducing the new gene that help fight a
disease

 Some common ways are:
 Using fat droplets in nose sprays
 Using cold viruses that are modified to carry
alleles ,go into the cell and affect them
 The direct injection of DNA(might include
electroporation or biolistic method)

The process of gene therapy is of two types:
 Stem cell gene therapy:
In this gene therapy is applied on a fully developed
organism and the effects of gene therapy lasts only
to the operated organism
 Germ line gene therapy:
In this process gene therapy is done on a fertilized
egg or an early embryo and the altered genome is
followed in next generations.

 The examination of a patient’s DNA molecule
to determine his/her DNA sequence for
mutated genes
 The genome of an individual is scaned for
this purpose by a scientist

 Forensic/identity testing
 Determining sex
 Conformational diagnosis of symptomatic
individuals
 Newborn screening
 Prenatal diagnostic screening

 Better drugs can be obtained by the
knowledge of genetics
 Genetic testing can be used to detect the
mutations regarding genetic disorders like
cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia, hutington
diseases, etc.
 Tests are also being developed to detect
various cancers

Biotech & medicine.ppt

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