In contrast, most conventionally produced pharmaceutical agents designed for treating humans are foreign to, or not normally present in, the human body. Animal insulin, however, differs slightly but significantly from human insulin and can elicit troublesome immune responses. Recombinant human insulin is at least as effective as insulin of animal origin, is safer than animal-source insulin, and can satisfy medical needs more readily and more affordably. The FDA approved more biotech drugs in 1997 than in the previous several years combined. Pharmaceutical biotechnology's greatest potential lies in gene therapy.
Gene therapy is the insertion of genetic material into cells to prevent, control, or cure disease.
It encompasses repairing or replacing defective genes and making tumors more susceptible to other kinds of treatment.