In the 1970’s the first genetically engineering bacteria were
used to produce human insulin on a commercial scale. Since then,
several other protein-synthesising DNA fragments have been
inserted into bacterial and yeast cells to enable large scale in
vitro production of drugs, antibodies and other therapeutics.
Nevertheless, barriers to optimisation still exist: most
biosynthetic pathways are complex and not easily transferable
between species, and the build up of metabolic by-products can
often prove toxic to the new host. Synthetic biology uses the
disciplines of biology and engineering to understand and
synthesise standardized biological parts that can be
reconstructed to form biological devices, systems, or even whole
chromosomes. This technology has the potential not only to alter
existing metabolic pathways, but also to create new ones, and to
design tailor-made cells that churn out drugs or antibodies with
maximum efficiency. In 2012, the first anti-malarial drug
produced using synthetic biology will b