Growing Plants That Make Drugs

New technology in pharmacology is exciting. They are using specifically engineered plants to create biomolecules that are medicines! Weather this proves to be a “good thing” or not will have to be evaluated later on. For now this lowers the cost of the drug production and makes them available to more rural countries and areas of the earth.

“Plant biotechnology is becoming an accepted avenue for pharmaceutical development. Researchers have engineered plants to grow biomolecules that can be made into therapeutics, including vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. These new technologies hold the promise of more readily bringing treatments to low-to-middle-income countries and providing rapid responses to future pandemics. In this episode, Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services Team spoke with Julian Ma, the director of the Institute for Infection and Immunity and professor of molecular immunology at St. George’s Hospital Medical School, to learn more.” Says, Julian Ma, PhD of St. George’s Hospital Medical School.