Automated plant factory for the prodution of vaccines

The vaccine shortage during the swine flu pandemic in 2009 showed that although chicken-egg production is a reliable method, in a global emergency, it takes too long and does not yield enough vaccine. What is required are alternative methods with shorter production times and larger capacity, such as the production of vaccines and therapeutic agents in plants for example. Molecular farming, as this method is known in the trade, is easy, fast, and safe: the genetic information needed for target protein production is introduced into the plant via virus vectors that are harmless to humans. Moreover, plants have protein synthesis machinery similar to that of humans and can accommodate complex proteins.

Further information: cordis.europa.eu