Walsh Gary
Industrial Biochemistry Program, University of Limerick, Limerick City, Ireland.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2005 Apr;67(2):151-9. doi: 10.1007/s00253-004-1809-x. Epub 2004 Dec 4.
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.
在过去25年里，生物技术创新为蓬勃发展的生物制药行业的快速发展奠定了基础。治疗性胰岛素仍然是制药生物技术最常用的产品之一，基于胰岛素的产品全球年销售额超过45亿美元。其生产方法的创新，尤其是工程胰岛素类似物的出现，为科学技术进步如何对整个制药生物技术行业产生影响提供了引人入胜的见解。当前基于胰岛素的糖尿病研究越来越不关注胰岛素分子本身，而是关注非肠道胰岛素给药系统的开发，以及基于器官/细胞和基因治疗的疾病控制方法等领域。
