Protien Crystalography Possibilities
on GSC Space Facilities
Biotechnology is broadly defined as a set of techniques for rearranging and manufacturing biological molecules, tissues, and living organisms. This field is one of the most dynamic segments of our high-technology economy.
Armed with the advanced techniques of biotechnology and detailed data on the structure of key proteins, researchers are already creating a new generation of drugs. Researchers use data on the structure of proteins to design drugs at the molecular level that will interact with specific proteins and treat specific diseases. This approach promises to produce superior drugs for a wide range of conditions and may replace the trial-and-error approach to drug development that has been the rule for centuries.
GSC space facilities could become one of the world's premier sources for critical data on protein structures needed for this new method of drug development. In addition, the GSC space facilities could be used to study and understand the physics involved in protein crystals in order to overcome the difficulties that currently limit much of this research on Earth.
Highlights of Recent Research
Schering Plough (New Jersey), Eli Lilly (New Jersey), Upjohn (Michigan), Bristol-Myers Squib (New Jersey), Smith Kline Beecham (Pennsylvania), BioCryst (Alabama), DuPont Merck Delaware), Eastman Kodak (New York), and Vertex (Massachusetts) are working to produce space-grown high-quaility protein crystals for new drug development. Researchers have already used orbital research to produce superior protein crystals for research on clinical conditions, including cancer, diabetes, emphysema, and immune system disorders.
In collaboration with Eli Lilly and Co., The Hauptman Institute of Buffalo (New York) is using data from space on human insulin to design a drug that will bind insulin, thereby improving the treatment of diabetic patients.
Orbital research can be conducted on an enzume that HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) needs to reproduce. This research could better define the enzume's structure so that effective pharmaceuticals can be developed to inhibit the HIV virus.
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