The impact of biotechnology on modern medicine

Biotechnology traces back to humanity’s naturalistic knowledge, which has been applied through the evolution of science and technology over millennia and centuries. In a way, biotechnology is the science of life. Today, its fields of application are multiple, with the number of biotechnology companies having increased significantly over the past decade, offering interesting professional opportunities.

Biotechnology: What is it and how does it work?

The term ‘biotechnology’ combines the nouns ‘biology’ and ‘technology’, where the first refers to the study and knowledge (logos) of living beings (bios) and the second (techné) refers to the application and use of technical tools. The term first appeared in 1917, used by a Hungarian engineer in reference to the processing of certain agricultural products.

Traditional biotechnologies include all production technologies used for thousands of years and particularly refer to the use of living organisms such as bacteria, yeast, plant or animal cells. Examples include turning milk into cheese or grape juice into wine. These practices date back to a time when neither biology nor biotechnology was formally understood.

One of the first official definitions comes from the European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB), which in 1982 defined it as the integrated use of microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, and chemical engineering “to obtain applications of microorganisms and other cellular systems for the production of useful compounds or clinical therapies.”

Among later definitions, the most comprehensive is that of the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international treaty adopted in Nairobi in 1992. According to this definition, biotechnology (or biotechnologies, to reflect the plurality of technologies and applications) is: technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or their derivatives to produce or modify products or processes for specific purposes.

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) distinguishes four major areas of modern biotechnology: pharmaceuticals, medicine and diagnostics; agriculture, veterinary science and animal husbandry; bioindustry; and the environment. However, biotechnology applications are so broad that each sector contains multiple subfields and variations.

The intersection between pharmacy and biotechnology

Medical biotechnologies represent the branch of biotechnology dedicated to the discovery and development of active ingredients, vaccine production, and the development of new diagnostic techniques and gene and cell therapies. More specifically, they apply biochemistry, microbiology, and genetic engineering to the production of medical and pharmaceutical goods and services for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. This is the intersection between pharmacy and biotechnology, which gives rise to two subfields: molecular biotechnology and cellular biotechnology.

From the perspective of related professions, the role of the pharmaceutical biotechnologist has become increasingly established. In research, they focus on discovering, extracting, and manufacturing active ingredients, producing vaccines, and developing new medicines. In pharmaceutical companies, they design, manage, and control industrial processes for the production and quality control of biotechnological or innovative drugs.

Regarding the academic background of a pharmaceutical biotechnologist, a degree in pharmacy followed by specialization in biotechnology is required, which can be enhanced through an MBA in healthcare & pharma, opening doors to top positions in this expanding field.

Biotechnology applied to the pharmaceutical industry

The research into new therapies is the main segment of medical biotechnology. One key example is insulin produced through transgenic methods using recombinant DNA technology (a DNA sequence artificially created by combining genetic material from different sources), inserting the human gene into a bacterium, Escherichia coli, to obtain insulin identical to that produced by the human body.

Before transgenic production, insulin was extracted from pigs and cattle pancreases and was often rejected by patients. In contrast, biotech-produced insulin, using the human gene, is fully tolerated. Transgenic insulin was first developed in 1977 by two American scientists and commercialized in 1982.

It was the first patented drug obtained through genetic engineering techniques approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Later developments included human growth hormone (somatotropin) for dwarfism treatment, interferons for viral diseases and tumor suppression, as well as antibiotics and vaccines produced at industrial scale.

Modern biotechnology: new frontiers in science and medicine

In medicine, biotechnology has achieved significant milestones, contributing to increasingly early and precise diagnosis, essential for all types of diseases. The application of biotechnology in diagnostics is leading to more accurate and less invasive methods, moving toward predictive and personalized medicine with tailored treatments.

Advances in modern biology in DNA research and breakthroughs in genetic engineering represent new frontiers in science and medicine. Gene therapy is perhaps the most fascinating field: developed from advances in molecular biology and genetic engineering since the 1980s, it involves transferring one or more healthy genes into a diseased cell to treat conditions caused by missing or defective genes.

In cancer treatment, research explores transferring genes into tumor cells to induce cell death or block disease mechanisms. Studies focus on diseases such as muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, diabetes, metabolic disorders, cancers, and neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Expectations are high. We can only wait.