Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Timeline
  • Published:

The trials and tribulations of producing the first genetically engineered drug

Abstract

Fifty years ago, the determination of the structure of DNA sparked a genetic revolution. Here, I give a personal perspective of the challenges involved in the development of the first biological therapeutic resulting from this revolution: recombinant human insulin.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Bacterial production of human insulin.

Acknowledgements

I am fond of telling my closest friends that I have had two great loves in my life. One is biomedical research, and the other is my wife of fifty-four years, Alwyn. I wish to acknowledge her love and support during all of these years. At Eli Lilly I wish to acknowledge the following associates in this project: Drs J. Paul Burnett, Ronald Chance, David Dennen, Richard DiMarchi, Alan Dinner, Bruce Frank, John Galloway, John Marsden, Max Marsh, William L. Muth, Eldon Shuey, Edward Smithwick, and Mr John Keho, and their associates.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Related links

Related links

DATABASES

LocusLink

Insulin

FURTHER INFORMATION

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

Frederick Grant Banting

History of biotechnology

History of insulin

John James Richard Macleod

Paul Berg

American Association for Cancer Research

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Johnson, I. The trials and tribulations of producing the first genetically engineered drug. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2, 747–751 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1179

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1179

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing