Pharming (genetics)

**Historical Development**:
– First recombinant plant-derived protein (PDP) was human serum albumin in 1990.
– Open field trials of pharma crops started in the US in 1992.
– Industry growth in the early 2000s with several PDP products in development.
– Milk from mammals like cows, sheep, and goats commonly used for recombinant protein production.
– FDA approval for the first drug produced in genetically modified livestock in 2009.

**Regulation and Controversies**:
– Governments manage risks of genetically modified crops with varying regulations worldwide.
– Ethical debates surround GMOs, intellectual property, and market dynamics.
– Environmental effects and the role of GM crops in industrial agriculture are contentious.
– Stricter regulations introduced for field trials in 2003.
– Specific controversies exist around pharming, including concerns about altered plants entering the food supply.

**Advantages and Disadvantages**:
– Advantages include the absence of harmful pathogens in plants and correct processing of proteins.
– Plants offer sterile packaging for therapeutics, with a high global demand for pharmaceuticals.
– Concerns about safety of genetically modified foods and the need to protect consumer health and biodiversity.
– Disadvantages include potential impacts on business and market growth, and activists’ worries about altered plants in the food supply.
– Molecular farming produces plants with active compounds requiring attention.

**Companies, Projects, and Products**:
– Various companies like Medicago, PharmaPraxis, and Phyton Biotech have projects in plant protein production.
– Specific projects involve the development of vaccines and therapeutic proteins in plants like rice, tobacco, and barley.
– Abandoned projects by companies like Agragen and SemBioSys highlight challenges in the industry.
– Notable products include ATryn in genetically modified goats and antibodies produced in tobacco plants.

**Research and Innovations**:
– Exploration of plants and plant cells as platforms for producing therapeutic proteins.
– Advancements in molecular pharming techniques utilizing cereal crops and transgenic tobacco plants.
– Innovations in plant molecular farming with efficient production in Nicotiana tabacum and sugarcane plants.
– Challenges and solutions in protein production, like stabilizing additives and glycan optimization.
– Future prospects and industry developments, including ongoing advancements in molecular farming techniques and the potential for global good through protein products.