Protein Technology for Plant Pharmaceuticals

New technology uses self-pollinating plants as the production host to deliver high-level expression of therapeutic proteins in rice, wheat, and barley.

Called ExpressTec, the system was developed by Ventria Bioscience (Sacramento, CA, USA). The company has utilized the system to produce lysozyme, a protein involved in the body's natural defense against bacterial and viral infection. Ventria researchers have achieved protein expression levels of eight to 10 grams of lysozyme per kilogram of rice.

"ExpressTec is a major breakthrough for plant pharmaceuticals because the amount of target protein produced in the rice is several-fold higher than existing technologies,” said Ning Huang, Ph.D., vice president of research and development at Ventria Bioscience. "Also the protein is deposited within the rice seed, nowhere else in the plant, which allows for improved storage and processing.”

The company's gene expression technology involves two steps. First, molecular technologies are used to generate expression vectors that are engineered to produce specific output traits in selected grain tissues. This process takes the gene and clones it to the company's production vector. Then, the expression vector is inserted into the chromosome of the target host tissue, which is selected and regenerated into a whole plant. The company's goal is to commercialize products with applications in human and animal health. Products currently in development address infectious disease, cystic fibrosis, and emphysema. Ventria also offers its gene expression services to outside individuals or groups.

"Expression levels and scalable manufacturing are major hurdles for the advancement of the biopharmaceutical and proteomics industries,” noted Scott Deeter, president and CEO of Ventria. "With ExpressTec, we have achieved a significant milestone in the development of new technologies to overcome these hurdles.”




Related Links:
Ventria Biosciences