EU SmartCell to use Plant Cells as Pharmaceutical Factories
September 26, 2008| |
A European Consortium SmartCell composed of Biotechnology Institutes and Universities in Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, and Germany have combined their efforts to use plant science and other related disciplines to study plant metabolic pathways in isolated and cloned cells. The knowledge will be used to exploit secondary metabolic pathways to synthesize pharmaceuticals in high volumes and eventually manipulate plant cells to manufacture the desired compounds. Similar strategy has been used successfully in producing pharmaceuticals in microorganisms.
The consortium will focus on the synthesis of terpenes which are produced naturally by conifers. Terpene derivatives that are used clinically include steroids, menthol, camphor and cannabinoids. When successful, the technology will be applied to engineer and develop other desirable compounds.
For details view the press release at: http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS_FP7&ACTION=D&DOC=5&CAT=NEWS&QUERY=011c986d8807:2d02:5f0063f1&RCN=29895
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