Review: Improving Containment Strategies in Biopharming

The review, authored by Denis J. Murphy of the Biotechnology Unit, University of Glamorgan, UK, examined the challenges of segregating biopharmed crops expressing pharmaceutical or veterinary agents from mainstream crops, particularly those destined for food or feed use. The strategy of using major food crops as production vehicles for the expression of pharmaceutical or veterinary agents was critically analyzed in the light of several recent episodes of contamination of the human food chain by non-approved crop varieties.

Commercially viable strategies to limit or avoid biopharming intrusion into the human food chain require a more rigorous segregation of food and non-food varieties of the same crop species via a range of either physical or biological methods. Even more secure segregation is possible by the use of non-food crops, non-crop plants or in vitro plant cultures as production platforms for biopharming. In the current atmosphere of heightened concerns over food safety and biosecurity, the future of biopharming may be largely determined by the extent to which the sector is able to maintain public confidence via a more considered approach to containment and security of its plant production systems.

Subscribers can access the review in
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2007.00278.x.
Inquiries can be directed to dmurphy2@glam.ac.uk