Learning and Teaching Materials about Biological Drugs

Lecture slides “Biologiset lääkkeet” (Finnish)

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Learning Materials in Finnish Language  

Basic introduction to biological drugs

• Title: Biologiset lääkkeet (Biological Drugs) Year: 2016 Creator: Fimea (Finnish Medicines Agency) URL: https://fimea.fi/laaketurvallisuus_ja_tieto/biologiset-laakkeet
• Title: Biologiset lääkkeet (Biological Drugs) Year: 2023 Creator: Terveyskylä (Public information service provided a.o. by Finnish university hospitals) URL: https://www.terveyskyla.fi/laaketalo/tietoa-laakkeista/biologiset-laakkeet

Basic introduction to biosimilars

• Title: Biosimilaarien käyttöönotto (Adoption of biosimilars) Year: 2020 Creator: Lääketieteellinen Aikakauskirja Duodecim (Duodecim Medical Jornal) URL: https://www.duodecimlehti.fi/duo15344
• Title: Biosimilaarit – mitä ne ovat? (What are biosimilars?) Year: 2022 Creator: Apteekkilehti (Customer journal published by and for private pharmacies) URL: https://apteekkilehti.fi/laakkeet/biosimilaarit-mita-ne-ovat
• Title: Biologisten lääkkeiden lääkevaihto (Pharmacy-level biosimilar substitution) Year: 2024 Creator: Fimea (Finnish Medicines Agency) URL: https://fimea.fi/ajankohtaista/biologisten-laakevaihto

Learning Materials in English Language

Interesting movies about biological drugs (English)

• The Gene: An Intimate History (Two-part documentary) Year: 2020 Plotline: The Gene offers a deeply personal journey through genetics. It’s a powerful reminder of how tiny DNA strands underpin human health and disease, and how wielding that power carries immense promise and profound responsibility. Excellent coverage of biotech and gene-based biological drugs such as CRISPR. Creator: PBS, based on Siddhartha Mukherjee's book URL part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OsWLNqoWLA URL part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Af6FqaetQ
• Ozempic - The truth behind the "miracle drug" (Documentary) Year: 2024 Plotline: What is behind the hype? Ozempic is like any drug. Skipping the risk vs. benfit analysis might bite you later. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBI1WCmHRe4
• Insulin - a lucrative disease (Documentary) Year: 2022 Plotline: New insulins are marginally better than those from 40 years ago, but much more expensive Creator: Deutsche Welle URL: https://archive.org/details/youtube-rVH9J9uuySc
• Scientists Just Created World's First Smart Insulin (Youtube video) Year: 2025 Plotline: The video discusses the development of a designer, glucose-sensitive ("smart") insulin that can self-regulate: it is active when blood sugar is high and incactive when it's low thereby reducing the risk of overdosing. Creator: Dr. Ben Miles URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVTS_J7Xmxs
• Living proof (TV movie) Year: 2008 Plotline: The development of the breast cancer antibody drug Herceptin. Given the low budget, and lack of science advisors (resulting in some scientific inaccuracies), this is surprisingly good. Creator: Dan Ireland (Director), Vivienne Radkoff & Robert Bazell (Writers) URL: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229367/ Alternatively, the same story told by real-world HER2-positive brest-cancer patient Lisa. A 30-year journey from her initial diagnosis in her early 30s to a recurrence that had spread extensively, and how targeted therapies like Herceptin and Perjeta helped extend her life with stage IV disease. It also traces the decades-long scientific effort behind HER2-targeted treatments, highlighting key discoveries and drug developments that transformed breast cancer care: https://www.gene.com/stories/her2.

Teaching videos (English)

• What is a Biosimilar? (Video Explainer) Year: 2020 Creator: European Medical Agency URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adM6Qpy0KYc
• Biologics and biosimilars (Youtube video) Year: 2016 Creator: Healthcare Triage (Dr. Aaron Carroll) URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEYhlLbHNEw

Textbook (English)

• Biotechnology and Biopharmaceuticals: Transforming Proteins and Genes into Drugs Year: 2013 Author(s): Rodney J.Y. Ho & Milo Gibaldi DOI: 10.1002/9781118660485