Articles · 2024
Biopharmaceuticals: the Miracle of the Modern Age
Professor Mohamed Al-Rubeai
Written in Arabic. Below is an English summary — read the full article in Arabic ←.
Drawing on his four decades in biochemical engineering at University College Dublin, the chairman offers an accessible introduction to biological medicines — the antibodies, proteins and cell-derived therapeutics that have transformed the treatment of cancer, autoimmune disease and more.
The essay walks through what distinguishes biopharmaceuticals from conventional chemical drugs, and then follows the production process itself: cell lines grown in carefully controlled culture, scaled up step by step from small vessels to large bioreactors, and the sophisticated separation and purification technology that turns a living culture into a safe, sterile therapeutic product.
Published as an excerpt; the full essay appeared on the network's Facebook page.