Pros and cons of plant-based pharmaceuticals

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<h1>Pros and cons of plant-based pharmaceuticals</h1>
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<p>The next generation of genetically modified (GM) plants may make products headed for the pharmacy shelves. Researchers and biotech companies have begun engineering plants to produce a wide variety of pharmaceuticals such as edible vaccines, therapeutic proteins and plant-produced antibodies.<BR><BR>This article from the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology describes how far the technology has progressed, and looks into the pros and cons of so-called ‘pharming’.<BR><BR>While the technology’s developers hope GM plants will provide a cheaper way to produce drugs, consumer advocates argue that current regulatory system isn’t up to the challenge of plant-based pharmaceuticals, and environmentalists are concerned that the proteins produced could accidentally make their way into the food supply.<BR><BR><a href="http://pewagbiotech.org/buzz/display.php3?StoryID=67" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to full <em>AgBiotech Buzz</em> article</A></p>

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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/features/pros-and-cons-of-plantbased-pharmaceuticals/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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The next generation of genetically modified (GM) plants may make products headed for the pharmacy shelves. Researchers and biotech companies have begun engineering plants to produce a wide variety of pharmaceuticals such as edible vaccines, therapeutic proteins and plant-produced antibodies.

This article from the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology describes how far the technology has progressed, and looks into the pros and cons of so-called ‘pharming’.

While the technology’s developers hope GM plants will provide a cheaper way to produce drugs, consumer advocates argue that current regulatory system isn’t up to the challenge of plant-based pharmaceuticals, and environmentalists are concerned that the proteins produced could accidentally make their way into the food supply.

Link to full AgBiotech Buzz article