Pharmaceutical Products

The first commercial products to be developed with the use of genetic engineering were pharmaceutical products used in the treatment of human diseases and disorders. In 1979, Eli Lilly and Company began selling human insulin produced with the use of recombinant DNA technology. The gene for human insulin was inserted into plasmids and transferred to bacteria, which then produced human insulin. Previously, insulin was isolated from pig and cow pancreases; a few diabetics developed allergic reactions to this foreign protein. Recombinant insulin has the advantage of being the same as that produced in the human body. Other pharmaceutical products produced through recombinant DNA technology include human growth hormone (for children with growth deficiencies), clotting factors (for hemophiliacs), and tissue plasminogen activator (used to dissolve blood clots in heart attack patients).