Over the past few decades use of medical biotechnology has led
to important advances in diagnostics and therapy. As a result,
many diseases can now be detected earlier and treated more
specifically than ever before. Biotechnological methods permit -
determination of the molecular causes of disease, - development
of new diagnostic techniques, - and development of innovative
medicines (biopharmaceuticals / therapeutic proteins) directed
at specific molecular targets. A new class of drugs: therapeutic
antibodies Antibodies are immunoglobulin (Ig) proteins and are
components of the immune system. They recognise foreign
structures (antigens) and mark these for attack by the immune
system. Antigens include molecular structures present on the
surface of bacteria, viruses or body cells. In 1972 César
Milstein and Georges Köhler – who were later to win the Nobel
Prize – found a way of producing unlimited amounts of identical
antibody molecules. Within a few years such “monoclonal
antibodies” had revolutionised biologi