Strategic Development of Molecular Farming

Molecular farming is not only about producing valuable molecules in plants but also incorporates marketing, commercial development, clinical trials, regulatory approval and public acceptance. It certainly does not involve only scientist but farmers, patient advocacy groups and the bioprocessing industry as well.

In contrast to established production systems like bacteria or mammalian cells, the regulatory requirements for plant-based therapeutics are not yet fully defined. However, both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European EMEA have recently published draft guidance documents addressing this issue.

We also want to assess the impact of MF on developing countries and to develop a strategy for their active engagement.

Within the COST project, working group (WG1) is engaged in this work and will summarize the global state of molecular farming and the position of European research within that global picture. This will lead to the development of a strategic vision document for European research on molecular farming.