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Biotech & Genetics · Recorded milestone

Recombinant insulin

Recorded year1982

Genentech's bacteria-made human insulin is the first biotech drug.

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Built on

Insulin therapyRecorded · 1922enables
Recombinant DNARecorded · 1973enables

Led to

Insulin penRecorded · 1985enables
Gene-engineered hepatitis B vaccineRecorded · 1986enables
Recombinant growth hormone for cowsRecorded · 1993enables
Automated insulin pumpRecorded · 2017enables
GLP-1 obesity drugsRecorded · 2021enables

Sources & evidence

Additional source

Dataset updated 2026-10-18. This individual record has not been separately re-reviewed.