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An Indian-born US scientist has found a way to genetically engineer plants
to make large amounts of certain vaccines, January 2007 by Steve Mort.

Taken orally, they would be a lot cheaper than injected vaccines making them
ideal for use in poor countries.

The US government hopes such drugs could one day fight bio-terror threats
like anthrax.

At the scientist's lab, researchers are working to revolutionise the way
people around the world are vaccinated for a range of diseases.

Professor Henry Daniell of the University of Central Florida has devised a
way to produce oral vaccines at a fraction of the usual cost, making them
affordable in developing countries.

Professor Daniell says: "One third of the world population, two billion
people, earn less than two dollars a day. And a 26,000 to 40,000 dollar
treatment is unimaginable for that population. So even though treatments are
available, they're beyond their reach. And now, through oral delivery, it is
possible for the world, no matter where they live, to get this treatment in
an affordable manner."

Scientists first inject plants, like tobacco, lettuce or carrots, with
vaccine genes.

They are then planted in a greenhouse before being crushed and put into
capsules to be taken by patients.

The method skips a number of traditional processes involved in producing the
therapeutic proteins needed to make vaccines thus cutting the price of the
final product.

Professor Daniell says: "By doing this you completely eliminate all the
other costs associated with the therapeutic proteins. But the major
unanticipated advantage of this was our ability to cure certain autoimmune
diseases which has never been done before. And so that was an added benefit
which came in relation to reducing the cost of the therapeutic proteins."

And these oral vaccines, if approved, would be much easier to mass produce.

It is estimated just one acre of tobacco plants, for example, could produce
enough anthrax vaccine to inoculate everyone in the United States.

Professor Daniell says the possibilities are wide-ranging: "We have now
developed this system for several vaccines - for the bio-terrorism vaccines
like anthrax and for plague, but for other important diseases in developing
countries - waterborne pathogens like cholera, amebiasis and also viruses
like aura virus. All of these vaccines have already been developed. We are
also in the process of developing vaccines for malaria and tuberculosis."

The US government, including the National Institutes of Health, has provided
US$3 million of funding for the research.

Tests in mice have been successful and it's believed there are fewer
side-effects than with traditional vaccines.

Professor Daniell says: "The next step is human clinical trials. And in the
case of bioterrorism vaccines, these are on fast-track approval. And so in
those cases we have found additional support in the US. It is extremely
expensive - it costs 300 to 400 million dollars to do these clinical
trials."

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