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Industrial-scale pharmaceutical production from tobacco

Tobacco for medicines: Dr. Stefan Herz homogenizes tobacco plant material.

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Tobacco for medicines: Dr. Stefan Herz homogenizes tobacco plant material.

Leverkusen/Owensboro – Bayer Innovation GmbH and Kentucky Bioprocessing, LLC (KBP) have agreed to develop a facility for the production of biopharmaceuticals in Owensboro, Kentucky. Based on Bayer’s magnICON® technology, plant-made pharmaceutical proteins (PMP) and other high-value products will be produced in tobacco plants on an industrial scale. Under the terms of the agreement, KBP will adapt its existing facility by installing an automated system for high throughput transfection of tobacco host plants.

magnICON® technology enables rapid, high-yield production of proteins in tobacco plants. In June 2008 Bayer inaugurated a facility in Halle, Germany, for the production of a vaccine for the therapy of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma based on this technology.