Evolution of plant-made pharmaceuticals

The science and policy of pharmaceuticals produced and/or delivered by plants has evolved over the past twenty-one years from a backyard remedy to regulated, purified products. After seemingly frozen at Phase I human clinical trials with six orally delivered plant-made vaccines not progressing past...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2011-05, Vol.12 (5), p.3220-3236
Main Authors: Thomas, David R, Penney, Claire A, Majumder, Amrita, Walmsley, Amanda M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic
Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic
Drug Industry - history
Drug Industry - methods
Drug Industry - trends
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Humans
Plants, Genetically Modified - metabolism
Recombinant Proteins - biosynthesis
Review
Technology, Pharmaceutical - history
Technology, Pharmaceutical - trends
Vaccines - biosynthesis
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Summary:The science and policy of pharmaceuticals produced and/or delivered by plants has evolved over the past twenty-one years from a backyard remedy to regulated, purified products. After seemingly frozen at Phase I human clinical trials with six orally delivered plant-made vaccines not progressing past this stage over seven years, plant-made pharmaceuticals have made a breakthrough with several purified plant-based products advancing to Phase II trials and beyond. Though fraught with the usual difficulties of pharmaceutical development, pharmaceuticals made by plants have achieved pertinent milestones albeit slowly compared to other pharmaceutical production systems and are now at the cusp of reaching the consumer. Though the current economic climate begs for cautious investment as opposed to trail blazing, it is perhaps a good time to look to the future of plant-made pharmaceutical technology to assist in planning for future developments in order not to slow this technology's momentum. To encourage continued progress, we highlight the advances made so far by this technology, particularly the change in paradigms, comparing developmental timelines, and summarizing the current status and future possibilities of plant-made pharmaceuticals.
ISSN:1422-0067
1661-6596
1422-0067
DOI:10.3390/ijms12053220