Nature 312, 303 - 305 (22 November 1984); doi:10.1038/312303a0

Genetic engineering and pharmaceuticals

John Vane & Pedro Cuatrecasas

John Vane is at Wellcome Research Laboratories, Langley Court, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3BS, UK and Pedro Cuatrecasas is at Wellcome Research Laboratories, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.

Genetic engineering now allows biological synthesis and large-scale production of several proteins with therapeutic potential. The principal challenge in this sphere is to identify new, medically and commercially significant targets — the province of cell biologists, physiologists and biochemists. In the future, genetic engineering will surely provide invaluable tools for the study of the molecular basis of cellular control and pathophysiology, which will permit biochemists and medicinal chemists to design novel medicines.

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