Proteins work together to form networks. By knowing the specific networks of the proteins related to various diseases,it will be possible to elucidate the development mechanism of diseases such as cancer, other diseases and identify new drugs. Physiologically active substances can then serve as drug development platforms after a detailed examination of bioactivities, including morphological change, cell death and gene expression patterns at the cell or whole organism level, and a toxicity evaluation using cardiomyocyte cells differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

A new approach has been to understand how disease and infection are controlled at the molecular and physiological level and to target specific entities based on this knowledge. The process of drug discovery involves the identification of candidates, synthesis, characterization, screening, and assays for therapeutic efficacy. Biopharmaceuticals are medical drugs produced using biotechnology. They are proteins (including antibodies), nucleic acids (DNA, RNA or antisense oligonucleotides) used for therapeutic or in vivo diagnostic purposes, and are produced by means other than direct extraction from a native (non-engineered) biological source.The first such substance approved for therapeutic use was recombinant human insulin.The large majority of biopharmaceutical products are pharmaceuticals that are derived from life forms. A potentially controversial method of producing biopharmaceuticals involves transgenic organisms, particularly plants and animals that have been genetically modified to produce drugs.

In recent years, antibodies have played an important role in post-genome research activities. Moreover, through the application to drug discovery and medical diagnosis, a broad range of use in industry is expected in the future. However, before an antibody that can specifically recognize proteins or protein complexes considered to be industrially useful can be created, there are technical challenges. Generation of an antigen is difficult and the creation of antibodies is not easily accomplished due to immunological tolerance and other factors.