TechWatch Report: Edible Vaccines
Author:
Clanton, David JSummary:
The first plant vaccines were developed in tobacco since this species is easy to transform and regenerate. However, other more suitable plants have replaced tobacco, such as potatoes, tomatoes and corn.
"Edible vaccines provide an example of a novel strategy that has the potential to combine the innovations in medical science and plant biology to create affordable pharmaceutical products.
"... it is now theoretically possible to use transgenic plants as a viable alternative to the more expensive cell culture systems for the production of recombinant subunit vaccines."
This report explores the history and various benefits of edible vaccines, antigen expression systems, and the use of plant vaccines against biological warfare agents.
