Week 5

Question 1

Define Biopharmaceuticals

Answer 1

biological molecule used as a pharmaceutical

Question 2

What is the difference between first and second generation?

Answer 2

1st generation- biological molecule used as pharmaceutical but not modified
Can be considered as 1st if genetic engineering
2nd if modification is made that alters the nature of the product

Question 3

What are the advantages and disadvantages of production methods?

Answer 3

Bacterial expression systems have
Advantages
High yield
Disadvantages
May contain endotoxins
Post translational processing may differ compared to mammalian cells

Question 4

What are the problems with first generation mAbs?

Answer 4

Can provoke an immune response
Short half-life
Can’t activate human complement
Can be addressed by humanising the Ab

Question 5

What do Oligonucleotides do?

Answer 5

An alternative approach to delivering entire genes
Oligonucleotides block the translation at the ribosome and as a result the protein being made is prevented
Inhibit production of protein
With antisense oligonucleotides

Question 6

In review, you should be familiar with

Answer 6

What a biopharmaceutical is
How they are produced
How they differ from ‘conventional’ drugs
Differences between first and second-generation products
The principles behind gene therapy