There are many drugs that aid our lives on a daily basis that are made/mass produced due to the assistance of bacteria. Can you give a few examples of such drugs and perhaps tell a little about the process?

Answer 1

The obvious (to me!) example is penicillin production. I am sure if you google 'penicillin production' or similar this will come up with a number of sites.

Not really a drug but xanthan gum is made by bacteria on a large scale (it is used a thickner in the food industry).

I don't know what grade you are in, but I hope this helps.

There are a number of drugs where intermediates are made by bacteria as these can give one enantiomer that is later modified. A good example is the leukotriene syntheses (leukotrienes are used for treating asthma) developed by Stanley Roberts group at Glaxo.