Pharma IQ Glossary: Biosynthesis

Biosynthesis, also referred to as biogenesis, is an enzyme-catalyzed process in cells of living organisms by which substrates are converted to more complex products. The biosynthesis process often consists of several enzymatic steps in which the product of one step is used as substrate in the following step. Examples for such multi-step biosynthetic pathways are those for the production of amino acids, fatty acids, and natural products. Biosynthesis plays a major role in all cells, and many dedicated metabolic routes combined constitute general metabolism.