Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
Concepts Forensic Biology
Chapter One
Pharmaceuticals, biologics
and biopharmaceuticals
1.1 Introduction to pharmaceutical products
Pharmaceutical substances form the backbone of modern medicinal therapy. Most traditional pharmaceuticals
are low molecular weight organic chemicals (Table 1.1). Although some (e.g. aspirin)
were originally isolated from biological sources, most are now manufactured by direct chemical
synthesis. Two types of manufacturing company thus comprise the 'traditional' pharmaceutical sector:
the chemical synthesis plants, which manufacture the raw chemical ingredients in bulk quantities,
and the finished product pharmaceutical facilities, which purchase these raw bulk ingredients,
formulate them into final pharmaceutical products, and supply these products to the end user.
In addition to chemical-based drugs, a range of pharmaceutical substances (e.g. hormones and
blood products) are produced by/extracted from biological sources. Such products, some major
examples of which are listed in Table 1.2, may thus be described as ... read full excerpt from Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: Concepts and Applications ebook
