Traditional drugs were developed by random screening of chemicals through cell-based systems, animal testing, and eventually human clinical trials. Older drugs were found largely by random science. We did not understand what was wrong when someone was sick, just that this or that chemical seemed to help. Biotechnology has turned upside down. We now look at the mechanism behind the disease and then develop a drug to alter the outcome. With the sequencing of the human genome, we are moving to the next level, which involves understanding the genetic basis for diseases.
Similarly, biotechnology is used in agriculture. There are about 30 genetically altered biotechnology plant products approved today. Genetically modified seeds can be used to grow plants that have characteristics different from those found in nature. These new characteristics help farmers by reducing the usage of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides. Biotechnology crops are very successful. We are also developing new materials such as biopolymers, bioplastics, and even biochips. So biotechnology is a very useful technology that is being exploited by many different industries.
Biotechnology is approximately 20 years old. The first biotechnology research occurred in the late 1970s. The very first drug was approved in 1982. Now 10 to 15 biotech products are approved each year. Biotechnology is a very powerful technology, and will continue to be used to replace chemical approaches. In the 1950s and 1960s, chemistry was seen as being the great technology wonder and was used to make synthetic fabrics, pesticides, and agricultural chemicals. We now know today that many of these new chemicals are very toxic to our environment, because there are no mechanisms to break down the novel chemicals. Biology itself is inherently a lot safer. But we should not think that it is completely safe. The question we must ask are different from before.