Molecular Farming: Implication for Future Pharmaceutical Products

Abstract

The goal of molecular farming is to produce large amounts of active and secure pharmaceutical proteins at a low cost. Nowadays, gene transfer methods in plants have advanced significantly because of scientific advances in the field of biotechnology. Compared to other microbial and animal expression systems, these transgenic plants have several advantages in terms of ease of production, low cost, safety, and so on for producing pharmaceutical biomolecules. So far, many valuable pharmaceutical proteins and antibodies have been produced using this method, which has significantly aided patient treatment, particularly in developing countries where the production and preservation costs of such medicines are prohibitively expensive. However, there are some disadvantages, such as acceptance by the public, transgene escape and biosecurity, and so on, however, it is hoped that with the efforts of researchers, molecular farming will achieve great success in the near future. This mini-review highlights the history of molecular farming, plant transformation strategies, classes of protein within molecular farming, products in the market, products nearing commercialization, advantages of using transgenic plants as a bioreactor, major barriers to broader market penetration and strategies to overcome them, biosafety and challenges in the production of proteins and future prospects.