Imagine we were still quarantined and yet to crack the code for COVID-19. Spending years locked inside your house would've been devastating. This is when biopharma advancements saved our souls from the darkness of the outbreak!
Biopharmaceuticals harness biological entities, preferably microorganisms to come up with new drugs or more advanced means to combat a disease. Their cutting-edge research techniques even assist humans with novel therapies for treating rare conditions.
In recent years, biopharma has opted for cost-effective as well as efficient treatments. That's why advanced analytical solutions are being introduced to make it easier to distribute innovative drugs to the market.
With new technology beaming the market, biopharma advancements also have to surpass a certain quality. So we've gathered some recent biopharma advancements to provide you with all the ins and outs. Stay tuned!
Biopharma and the Recent Advancements
Various biopharma companies revamped their old vows to launch advanced remedies quickly and efficiently. This unleashed the potential of this industry to a certain degree. Some recent biopharma advancements include:
mRNA Vaccines
While many people get cold feet about vaccines, they single-handedly remediate the world with their prodigious emulsions.
They're usually a mixture of harmless bits and pieces of dead microbes that are injected into the body for therapeutic purposes. This triggers an immune response which strengthens our immune system to assist in fighting off foreign invaders.
However, advancements in vaccine formulation lead to the production of vaccines from messenger RNA. When injected, mRNA instructs the body cells to make viral protein. This protein is pretty much foreign to the body so it reads them as invaders.
As a result, the generation of antibodies is boosted as a part of the body's coping machinery. So whenever a virus enters the body, the antibodies activate their fight mode to get rid of the invaders before they cause any illness.
The antibodies also stay inside the body for a prolonged period for fighting off any disease-causing entities. Moreover, mRNA is better as no adverse effects arise from introducing foreign organisms.
Now mRNA vaccines are widely used for taming coronavirus. Proteins are accumulated on the outward spikes of the virus whenever they enter the body. So mRNA causes these advanced vaccines to successfully destroy any invading microorganisms.
Personalized Medications
Just like customized clothes, personalized medications are tailored to a person's unique biological getup for treating rare conditions. These medicines eliminate any signs of side effects that may surface from consuming regular medications available for all.
The one-size fit all policy of traditional medicines often misses the mark as everyone's genetic makeup isn't the same. A particular medicine can show miraculous progression in one person while it can be fatal to another. That's why taking treatments based on one's uniqueness can be extremely effective.
Understanding the art of DNA, personalized medicines can help people achieve faster and more seamless diagnosis. Moreover, they aid in predicting any upcoming disease based on symptoms as well as obstruct them from developing any further.
Furthermore, these medicines contain biomarkers that can pinpoint any internal changes before any symptoms even arise! This means the conditions can be resolved during early stages before they turn deadly.
Personalized medicines are now widely used for treating the most terrifying condition - cancer. The biomolecules assist in locating cancerous cells before they spread all over the body. So any risks of cancer taking over can also be curbed with the help of these medications.
Bioprinting
We all know 3D printing enables us to turn any product prototype to reality. Now would you believe if we say you can print organs! Just like 3D printers slowly create objects layer by layer, bioprinting enables us to build organs by printing with cells instead of ink.
Firstly, patients need to undergo an MRI scan to get a copy of their internal organization. This creates a blueprint based on which the tissue model will be developed. Cells are also mixed with bioinks to create an emulsion for printing the 3D organ.
Once the model is formed, the living cells start multiplying. Therefore, these 3D models can assist in research purposes for reforming the medication and cosmetic sectors.
Drug development costs can be significantly reduced as the tissue models are perfect during testing procedures. This means bioprinting will provide a more cost-effective result with reduced waste during drug discovery.
Now these organ models can also be used as dummies for practicing surgeries. Again, they can be used to research new possible diseases. Most importantly, surgeons will be able to conceal wounds using skin grafts or even plastic surgery.
Further research is required for transplanting artificial organs instead of waiting for a match from donors.
Gene Therapy
Another advanced treatment based on a person's unique genetic configuration is none other than gene therapy. Extreme cases of rare diseases are combated using gene therapy by altering the genes of the patient. In this way, unnecessary medications and surgeries are significantly reduced.
Previously, gene therapy was streamlined by either introducing a new gene or fixing a gene by inserting a good version of the faulty gene.
But it soon commenced the development of gene editing where the CRISPR-Cas9 tool acts as biological scissors to tailor a defective gene. This tool is used to add, remove, or simply repair the faculty gene responsible for causing diseases.
Damaged somatic genes can be treated by replacing it with a healthy gene in most conditions. But for genetically passed diseases, healthy genes are introduced to the germline cells i.e. which produce reproductive cells.
However, it's not widely used and is used to treat a small circle of unique conditions. Leber congenital amaurosis is an eye condition that can be cured using gene therapy. Other extreme disorders like cystic fibrosis and even cancer can be overcome by harnessing this miraculous therapy.
Synthetic Biology
Tailoring organisms is pretty common in biopharmaceuticals. So synthetic biology isn't an exception - it redesigns biological components by engineering them to achieve new properties that weren't present naturally.
By utilizing modified bacterial chromosomes, further advancements in drug discovery can be seen. This technique can also be used to produce pharmaceutical intermediates that can assist in treating rare conditions.
Synthetic biology also assists in tailoring mammalian cells to create tools for identifying as well as interrupting emerging diseases. Biosensors can be produced that aids in identifying any new diseases based on a shift in the genetic getup.
This advanced procedure enabled researchers to come up with COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine development and delivery has also been made much easier ever since its introduction.
A synthetic biology variant of salmonella has been successful in delivering vaccines without the requirement of needle pricks! This makes vaccination much easier for people who have phobia. So the attenuated microorganism simply boosts viral protein production for combating diseases.
Development of bio-based drugs reduces any extra side effects in patients. Moreover, alterations in the host genome are done for treating cancer patients. This makes treatments more effective.
Artificial Intelligence Applications
Artificial intelligence isn't only confined within our academics but also significantly aids the biopharmaceuticals sector. This powerful phenomenon assists in drug research and delivery as well as marks affected areas on medical images.
New biological molecules are rapidly discovered with the aid of AI. Machine learning algorithms guide in finding out lead optimization and toxicity. Some AI models process the images of biological molecules for identifying drug targets. This creates a wide range of effective drugs unlike traditional techniques that take decades.
Quality control inconveniences can be resolved with the support of AI. Moreover, market insights can be determined by tracking down supply and demand algorithms.
Most importantly, the tedious method of being approved in every stage of drug discovery has been revamped using this advancement. This means artificial intelligence helps to track down every single stage of drug development, starting from discovery to distribution.
Reducing the burden of continuing clinical trials saved a lot of time as well as expenses. Extra costs from irrelevant advertising is also decreased using AI. The artificial advancement assists in creating engaging posts to attract customers and promote partnership from other pharmaceutical companies.
Bottom Line
Human lives are curated by biopharma advancements with the inauguration to novel therapeutics that are cost-efficient and resilient. The miracles casted in the field of modern science are not only mind blowing but also life altering. So if you've tagged along you'll now be able to keep up with the recent biopharma advancements.
In short, biopharma harnesses biological organisms for decoding new diseases. The introduction to mRNA vaccines presented humans with new lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personalized medications are designed to treat particular diseases depending on the patient's genetic getup. Bioprinting prints organ-like models for research purposes. Gene therapy engineers faulty genes for receiving therapeutic benefits.
Synthetic biology redesigns biological components. Finally, R&D drug production is significantly aided with AI.