Page 55 - Binder2

By the 1980s and 1990s, the pharmaceutical frontier had
shifted. As genomics and molecular biology exploded, a
new class of diseases—autoimmune conditions, cancers,
rare genetic disorders—called for more sophisticated tools.
That’s when biologics entered the scene.

These weren’t pills. They were living therapies:
monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, fusion
molecules, enzymes, hormones. They were too large and
complex to be made in a lab dish—so we turned to cell
factories. CHO cells. Yeast. Bacteria. Eventually plants.
These living systems were engineered to produce intricate
proteins that could be used as medicine.

Biologics were a triumph of molecular engineering. They
could block specific cytokines, target rogue B-cells, replace
defective enzymes, and slow the immune system with a
level of precision that small molecules couldn’t match. For
patients with diseases like Crohn’s, rheumatoid arthritis,
multiple sclerosis, and dozens of rare disorders, they were
nothing short of transformational.

And for the pharmaceutical industry, they were a gold
rush.

Drugs like Remicade, Enbrel, and Humira didn’t just treat
diseases—they redefined entire markets. By the early
2000s, biologics accounted for a growing share of top-
selling therapies worldwide. Their complexity justified
their price. Their novelty justified their hype.

But with all this innovation came a quiet tradeoff: we were
designing these therapies to work, but not necessarily to
last.

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