Development and significance of selected biotechnological methods for drug development: immunological and transformation methods

Abstract

The impact of biotechnology on the pharmaceutical industry has increased significantly over the last few years, firstly as a method for developing and producing new drugs, and secondly as a tool for improving the process of drug discovery. A series of forthcoming papers will analyse how biotechnology is entering patent applications in pharmaceuticals and which countries and firms or research institutions are driving these developments. This first paper concentrates on two particular sets of biotechnological methods: immunological (comprising antigenes and antibodies) and transformation methods. It can be shown that immunological methods for pharmaceutical preparations diffused in this technological field rather rapidly after their initial introduction. Transformation methods, the basic tools of genetic engineering, have gained more significance within pharmaceutical research and development over recent years. Both of these trends have been driven mainly by companies and research institutions in the US and Europe. While pharmaceutical patents in general are filed mainly by multinational pharmaceutical companies, smaller firms and research institutions are among the most active patenters in relation to the analysed biotechnological methods. Only three of the top twenty patent applicants in total pharmaceuticals are also among the top twenty applicants in each of the biotechnological sub-areas analysed. This analysis supports the notion that smaller firms and research institutions are playing a major role in driving the development of biotechnology-based pharmaceuticals.