Novel platforms for essential biomolecules: expression of antibodies in plants

Abstract

The demand for health products such as protein therapeutics and sub-unit vaccines to control infectious diseases far outweighs the current global production capacity of these molecules. These products are currently being produced in conventional fermentation and mammalian cell culture-based platforms. The products are expensive, not readily accessible to developing countries and, in mammalian cell culture products, also carry the risk of infection from contaminating mammalian pathogens. Clearly there is a need for new and innovative platforms to be added to the pharmaceuticals production technologies