Production of Recombinant Pharmaceutical Proteins

The proteins produced in the body control and mediate the metabolic processes and help in its routine functioning. Any kind of impairment in protein production, such as production of mutated protein, or misfolded protein, leads to disruption of the pathway controlled by that protein. This may manifest in the form of the disease. However, these diseases can be treated, by supplying the protein from outside or exogenously. The supply of active exogenous protein requires its production on large scale to fulfill the growing demand. The process is complex, requiring higher protein expression, purification, and processing. Each product needs unique settings or standardizations for large-scale production and purification. As only large-scale production can fulfill the growing demand, thus it needs to be cost-effective. The tools of genetic engineering are utilized to produce the proteins of human origin in bacteria, fungi, insect, or mammalian host. Usage of recombinant DNA technology for large-scale production of proteins requires ample amount of time, labor, and resources, but it also offers many opportunities for economic growth. After reading this chapter, readers would be able to understand the basics about production of recombinant proteins in various hosts along with the advantages and limitations of each host system and properties and production of some of the important pharmaceutical compounds and growth factors.