Foundation Review: Transgenic animals and their impact on the drug discovery industry

The ability to direct genetic changes at the molecular level has resulted in a revolution in biology. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in the production of transgenic animals. Transgenic technology lies at the junction of several enabling techniques in such diverse fields as embryology, cell biology and molecular genetics. A host of techniques have been used to effect change in gene expression and develop new pharmaceutical and nutraceutical compounds cost-effectively. Scientific advances gained by transgenic capabilities enable further understanding of basic biological pathways and yield insights into how changes in fundamental processes can perturb programmed development or culminate in disease pathogenesis.