Therapeutic categories biopharmaceuticals

Biopharmaceuticals comprise another very important category of molecules that have beneficial therapeutic properties. Biopharmaceuticals will be considered separately for several reasons. First, the drug discovery process is different. Second, there are important differences in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic properties of traditional small-molecule drugs and biopharmaceuticals. While general pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles apply equally to small-molecule drugs and biopharmaceutical drugs, biopharmaceuticals often exhibit unique pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties (Meibohm, 2006). Discussion of biopharmaceuticals starts in Section 3.6. 

Figure 1.15 Comparative approval success rates of US biopharmaceutical products and drugs by therapeutic category. (Reproduced with permission from Outlook 2005, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, 2005 4, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.)...

For readers familiar with biotechnology, biopharmaceutics, and the drug development process, and for those that focus on the application of biopharmaceuticals. Part II provides a brief overview of each class of macromolecule with respect to physiological role and clinical application. Additional detail for each FDA approved, recombinantly derived biopharmaceutical, and several other interesting therapeutic proteins, for each category of macromolecule... 

Biopharmaceuticals or biologicals are pharmaceutical products consisting of (glyco)proteins and/or nucleic acids that have evolved into a new and important category of therapeutic agents, in particular since the development of recombinant DNA technology. 

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