Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 1.1 The birth of an industry
Biotechnology is not new. Cheese, bread and yoghurt
are products of biotechnology and have been known
for centuries. However, the stock-market excitement
about biotechnology stems from the potential of
gene manipulation, which is the subject of this topic.
The birth of this modern version of biotechnology
can be traced to the founding of the company
Genentech.
In 1976, a 27-year-old venture capitalist called
Robert Swanson had a discussion over a few beers
with a University of California professor, Herb Boyer.
The discussion centred on the commercial potential
of gene manipulation. Swanson's enthusiasm for the
technology and his faith in it was contagious. By
the close of the meeting the decision was taken to
found Genentech (Genetic Engineering Technology).
Though Swanson and Boyer faced scepticism from
both the academic and business communities they
forged ahead with their idea. Successes came thick
and fast (see Table B1.1) and within a few years
they had proved their detractors wrong. Over
1000 biotechnology companies have been set up in
the USA alone since the founding of Genentech
but very, very few have been as successful.
Table B1.1
Key events at Genentech.
1976 Genentech founded
1977 Genentech produced first human protein (somatostatin) in a microorganism
1978 Human insulin cloned by Genentech scientists
1979 Human growth hormone cloned by Genentech scientists
1980 Genentech went public, raising $35 million
1982 First recombinant DNA drug (human insulin) marketed (Genentech product licensed to Eli Lilly & Co.)
1984 First laboratory production of factor VIII for therapy of haemophilia. Licence granted to Cutter Biological
1985 Genentech launched its first product, Protropin (human growth hormone), for growth hormone deficiency in children
1987 Genentech launched Activase (tissue plasminogen activator) for dissolving blood clots in heart-attack patients
1990 Genentech launched Actimmune (interferon-
g
1
b
) for treatment of chronic granulomatous disease
1990 Genentech and the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche complete a $2.1 billion merger
knowledge of biology, and the development of
new methodologies has largely fallen to the supply
companies.
cloning experiments were undertaken in
E. coli.
Subsequently, cloning techniques were extended to
a range of other microorganisms, such as
Bacillus
subtilis, Pseudomonas
sp., yeasts and filamentous
fungi, and then to higher eukaryotes. Curiously,
cloning in
E. coli
is technically easier than in any
other organism. As a result, it is rare for researchers
to clone DNA directly in other organisms. Rather,
DNA from the organism of choice is first mani-
pulated in
E. coli
and subsequently transferred back
to the original host. Without the ability to clone
and manipulate DNA in
E. coli
, the application of
recombinant DNA technology to other organisms
would be greatly hindered.
The central role of
E. coli
E. coli
has always been a popular model system
for molecular geneticists. Prior to the development
of recombinant DNA technology, there existed a
large number of well-characterized mutants, gene
regulation was understood and there was a ready
availability of a wide selection of plasmids. Com-
pared with other microbial systems it was match-
less. It is not surprising, therefore, that the first
