New research for a plant-made vaccine from Dow AgroSciences received USDA's regulatory approval this week.
The Dow AgroSciences Concert Plant-Cell-Produced System represents a new category of plant-made vaccines. The technology utilizes plant cells instead of whole plants in a secure, bio-contained environment to produce vaccines. Because of this bio-contained production system, concerns and challenges associated with making vaccines in whole plants or food crops are eliminated.
By achieving this regulatory milestone, Dow AgroSciences has demonstrated that this new technology fits within the existing USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics regulatory approval process. Dow AgroSciences plans to now focus its efforts on developing new, innovative vaccines with an emphasis on animal health. Possible target animals include: horses, companion animals (such as dogs and cats), poultry, swine, and cattle. Furthermore, utilizing this revolutionary technology for human diseases is a real possibility.