Vaccine to be made in biotech plant cells
US - An Indianapolis-based company has been granted federal approval to manufacture a vaccine in genetically engineered plant cells.Dow AgroSciences has received Department of Agriculture approval to make a vaccine against Newcastle disease, which can infect poultry. The vaccine is grown in genetically engineered cells from non-nicotine-producing tobacco plants.
No plants are actually grown, and there is no danger that the vaccines will appear in whole plants or food crops, says Dow's Robyn Heine.
Many drugs for people, including insulin, are made by a similar process involving genetically engineered animal cells, but this is the first time a drug from plant cells has been approved. Dow says it doesn't plan to sell the Newcastle disease vaccine but wanted to demonstrate that a plant-cell-based system could produce vaccines for animals.
Source: USAToday
1 February 2006
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