what are “biologicals” and how do they differ from regular medications?
In: Biology
Medicines are usually “small molecules” which, like the name sounds like, are small. Less than ~500 daltons (a measure of molecular weight, where carbon is 12, oxygen is 16, etc.). So they can be ingested, and absorbed in the stomach or intestines. Aspirin is an example.
Biologicals are much, much larger. They tend to be proteins, or specifically, antibodies (but not always). Because of that they tend to need to be injected because they would be digested if you ate them.
The main functional difference is that biologicals are much more specific for their target. They also act in very different ways, but probably thats more than we need to go into for an eli5.
Latest Answers