Biological

Article By:

Schuchardt, Lee F. Merck, Sharp, and Dohme, West Point, Pennsylvania.

Last reviewed:August 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.083000

A biological product used to induce immunity to various infectious diseases or noxious substances of biological origin. Biological products, or simply biologicals, are usually limited to immune serums, antitoxins, vaccines (see illustration), and toxoids that have the effect of providing protective substances of the same general nature that a person develops naturally from having survived an infectious disease or having experienced repeated contact with a biological poison. As a matter of regulatory convenience, certain therapeutic substances that have little to do with conferring immunity have been classified as biological products primarily because they are derived from human or animal sources and are tested for safety by methods similar to those used for many biological products. In addition, because livestock and pets, as well as human beings, require protection from infectious diseases, there is an extensive assortment of veterinary biological products. Veterinary vaccines and toxoids are prepared in the same way as are biological products for human use. See also: Antitoxin; Immunity; Immunology; Infectious disease; Vaccination

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