PCL102H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Antigen, Multiple Sclerosis, Autoimmune Disease
29 Mar 2017
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What is a specialty drug: high cost (> per month, requires specialized handling, administration and monitoring not just a pill you can take on a daily basis (ex: infusions, monitoring blood levels etc. , used to treat complex or rare diseases, often a biologic (different therapeutic class of drugs), rather than a traditional small molecule drug. Specialty drugs are often biologics: biologics also called biological products, biopharmaceuticals, medicinal products used to either: o treat or cure diseases and medical conditions o prevent diseases o diagnose diseases o these are similar to small molecule drugs, produced from living cells or organisms (key feature) o derived from a variety of natural sources, may be composed of: o protein, nucleic acids or sugars, or combinations of these substances o living entities such as cells and tissues. Size and complexity of smd"s compared to biologics. Discovery process for biologics compared to smd"s: biologics takes more time and costs more.
