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April 23, 2003

 

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

 

"Practicalities of the DNA Revolution"

Financial Times (www.ft.com) (04/23/03) P. 23; Brun-Rovet, Marianne

 

The discovery of the DNA double helix structure 50 years ago was a breakthrough in medical science, and continues to have ramifications today, though the use of DNA knowledge has thus far been limited primarily to diagnostic products like medical tests.  Few drugs and other therapeutic treatments have yet to be developed from the information, though some vaccines have come into the market.  The slow pace at which DNA data is being translated into treatments for disease is understandable, according to some biotechnology executives, who say that there will undoubtedly be advances based on DNA research in the future; but skeptics are beginning to suggest that DNA structure will never have much of an impact on drug design and delivery.  Many of the most celebrated companies working in the DNA field, such as Cambridge Antibody Technologies, have plenty of products in their development programs, but have yet to get any drugs to the market despite touting genome decoding as the way to find drug targets.  Vaccine makers Acambis and PowderJect are benefiting from the genomic information through partnerships with major drug firms to bring the vaccines to market.

 

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