Plant-made vaccines in support of the Millennium Development Goals

Plant Cell Rep. 2011 May;30(5):789-98. doi: 10.1007/s00299-010-0995-5. Epub 2011 Jan 18.

Abstract

Vaccines are one of the most successful public health achievements of the last century. Systematic immunisation programs have reduced the burden of infectious diseases on a global scale. However, there are limitations to the current technology, which often requires costly infrastructure and long lead times for production. Furthermore, the requirement to keep vaccines within the cold-chain throughout manufacture, transport and storage is often impractical and prohibitively expensive in developing countries-the very regions where vaccines are most needed. In contrast, plant-made vaccines (PMVs) can be produced at a lower cost using basic greenhouse agricultural methods, and do not need to be kept within such narrow temperature ranges. This increases the feasibility of developing countries producing vaccines locally at a small-scale to target the specific needs of the region. Additionally, the ability of plant-production technologies to rapidly produce large quantities of strain-specific vaccine demonstrates their potential use in combating pandemics. PMVs are a proven technology that has the potential to play an important role in increasing global health, both in the context of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals and beyond.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bioreactors
  • Communicable Disease Control
  • Developing Countries
  • Drug Storage / methods
  • Drug Storage / standards
  • Genetic Engineering / methods*
  • Humans
  • Plants / genetics
  • Plants / metabolism*
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Protein Stability
  • Technology, Pharmaceutical / methods
  • Technology, Pharmaceutical / trends*
  • Vaccines / biosynthesis*
  • Vaccines / economics
  • Vaccines / genetics

Substances

  • Vaccines