Medical Biotechnology in the World
Biotechnology is a branch of science we have used in daily life since ancient times. The fermentation we use to make bread, yoghurt and alcoholic drinks is in fact a biotechnological experiment. In some of these processes, bacterial cultures are grown in conditions that suit them, so that the bacteria turn milk into yoghurt or grape juice into vinegar or wine. When bread dough rises, the yeast microorganisms added to the dough multiply and make it ready for baking.
The breeding methods used to domesticate animals and the methods used to produce more productive crop varieties are also biotechnological. Did you know that the ancestor of the corn we eat was a colourful plant that was very hard to eat? Or that the ancestors of the bananas you buy at the supermarket were also very hard to eat? The many very different-looking dog breeds around you exist because dogs were bred to bring out certain traits in their genes. Some cow breeds give more milk than others for the same reason: like dogs, they were bred to bring certain genes to the fore.
Medical biotechnology became a broader research field of its own with the discovery of antibiotics. Plants, animal extracts and minerals have been used in various formulations to treat diseases since ancient times, especially in the Far East. But the best-known first invention of medical biotechnology is penicillin, discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928.
Although the discovery of penicillin was one of the most important cornerstones of modern medical biotechnology, real progress began with the discovery of genetic material.
1869 F. Miescher discovers DNA
1910 T.H. Morgan shows that genes are located on chromosomes
1941 Beadle & Tatum: the one gene–one enzyme hypothesis
1944 Avery, McLeod & McCarty: DNA is shown to be the genetic material
1953 Watson, Crick, Franklin, Wilkins: the structure of DNA is discovered
1961 Brenner, Jacob & Meselson: mRNA is discovered
1966 Nirenberg & Khorana: the genetic code is fully deciphered
1972 P. Berg: recombinant DNA is made in vitro
1971 The world’s first biotechnology company is founded (California, USA)
1973 H. Boyer & S. Cohen: DNA is cloned into plasmids
1973 H. Temin: the reverse transcriptase enzyme is discovered
1977 F. Sanger & W. Gilbert: a rapid DNA sequencing method is developed
1979 The first biotechnology product: human growth hormone
1980 The first biotechnology company to go public: Genentech ($35 million)
1982 T. Cech & S. Altman: ribozymes are discovered
1984 The DNA fingerprinting technique is developed
1984 Chiron clones HIV and sequences its whole genome
1984 The FDA approves the first recombinant drug (HGF: Genentech)
1986 The FDA approves the first vaccine produced with recombinant DNA
1986 K. Mullis et al.: the PCR method is discovered
1991 Gene therapy is used for the first time in cancer patients
1995 The whole DNA of the first non-viral organism (a bacterium) is sequenced
1996 The first mammal is cloned: Dolly the sheep
1998 The first human embryonic stem cells are isolated (Thomson, Jones et al.)
2001 Venter, Collins and many others: the first human genome sequence
2002 The whole genome of the first synthetic virus is synthesised
2003 The Human Genome Project is completed ($2.7 billion)
2003 The first commercial gene therapy product is approved (China)
2004 The first DNA microarray diagnostic device is approved (Roche)
2006 Yamanaka and colleagues create the first iPSCs
2006 The first plant-made vaccine is approved, for use in poultry
2008 The first fully synthetic bacterial DNA is synthesised: Craig Venter
2010 The first lab-on-a-chip technology is produced (Harvard University, USA, lung)
2010 Clinical trials begin on using neural stem cells to treat ALS and paralysis
2010 The FDA approves the first personalised cancer drug (prostate cancer)
2011 A human genome can be sequenced in under a week for $2,000
2011 Skin is produced with a 3D printer
2012 The FDA publishes regulations for biosimilar drugs
2012 The whole DNA of a foetus is sequenced from the mother’s blood
2013 The CRISPR method is discovered
2013 A baby born with HIV is “fully” cured for the first time
2014 A woman who received a uterus transplant becomes pregnant for the first time
2015 A new antibiotic is discovered for the first time in about 30 years
2016 CRISPR is used to treat human disease (China)
2016 Stem cell transplants enable paralysed patients to walk
2017 Human cells are grown in pig embryos (for future use in organ transplants)
