Therapeutic insulins and their large-scale manufacture.
Biotechnological innovations over the past 25 years have underpinned the rapid development of a thriving biopharmaceutical sector. Therapeutic insulin remains one of the most commonly used products of pharmaceutical biotechnology and insulin-based products command annual global sales in excess of $4.5 billion. Innovations in its method of production and in particular the advent of engineered insulin analogues provide a fascinating insight into how scientific and technological advances have impacted upon the pharmaceutical biotechnology sector as a whole. Current insulin-based diabetes research is increasingly focused not on the insulin molecule per se, but upon areas such as the development of non-parenteral insulin delivery systems, as well as organ-/cell-based and gene therapy-based approaches to controlling the disease.
Walsh
Gary
G
Industrial Biochemistry Program, University of Limerick, Limerick City, Ireland. Gary.walsh@ul.ie
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation
D007328:Insulin; D011994:Recombinant Proteins