Medical Biotechnology

From the very beginning of the biotechnology revolution in the early1970s, many scientists understood that this new technology would radically change the way that we think about health care. They understood early on, well before any products were commercialized, that medical science was about to undergo a major paradigm shift in which all of our previous assumptions and approaches would change dramatically. Forty years later, biotechnology has delivered on much of its early promise. Hundreds of new therapeutic agents, diagnostic tests, and vaccines have been developed and are currently available in the marketplace. Moreover, it is clear that we are presently just at the tip of a very large iceberg, with many more products in the pipeline. It is likely that, in the next 10 to 15 years, biotechnology will deliver not only new products to diagnose, prevent,and treat human disease but also entirely new approaches to treating a wide range of hitherto diffi cult-to-treat or untreatablediseases. We have written Medical Biotechnology with the premise that it might serve as a textbook for a wide range of courses intended for premedical and medical students,dental students,pharmacists etc.