Research & Development > Plants: the Ultimate "Vector"
Plants: the Ultimate "Vector" Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories and its affiliates are utilizing a variety of plants to produce vaccines, including tomato, spinach, carrot, sweet potato, peanut, musk, melon, lettuce, potato, corn and tobacco plants. The plants are grown in green house facilities at Thomas Jefferson University and the greenhouses at Delaware Valley College, a nearby state-of-the-art agricultural college.
Why has Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories chosen plants as the primary vector, or carrier, for its revolutionary vaccines?
Research has shown that plants are a natural and effective production system for biomedical materials.
The advantages of using plants include:
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Cost: Plant vaccines are inexpensive to produce especially compared to the cost of traditional vaccines. Edible vaccines would be extremely cost-effective to manufacture and administer, requiring little or no man- power or equipment.
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Safety: The use of plants for the production of biomedical materials eliminates the possibility of cross-contamination with animal or human pathogens. In addition, edible vaccines would not require syringes, which pose the threat of infection to recipients. Finally, Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories anticipates that plant vaccines will have few or no side effects.
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Economic Implications: Farming is already an important and established part of our global economy. The case of growing plants for production of vaccines and other therapeutics has already been demonstrated and will support worldwide farming and local economies.
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Practicality and Flexibility: Because one plant can express several antigens simultaneously, vaccines against a variety of pathogens can be produced in a single plant.
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