Plant expressed vaccine or project GreenVax In 2005

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adv ...

’s Accelerated Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals (AMP) program was created In response to emerging and novel biologic threats. In 2009

offered a government contract for a Non-GMO plant-based systems expressing recombinant proteins, due to The 2009 H1N1

swine flu Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As o ...

pandemic that highlighted the national need for rapid and agile vaccine manufacturing capabilities. The

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and a Texas company (GreenVax LLC, later renamed to Caliber Biotherapeutics LLC and ultimately acquired by iBio, Inc.) have been awarded a $40 million U.S.

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

grant to develop a plant expressed vaccine made from tobacco. While egg-based vaccines typically take more than six months to develop after a virus is isolated, the new process will take only four to six weeks. The vice chancellor for research at A&M System declared that if the project works it will be one of the largest and most capable vaccine facilities in the world. However the major problem is the public acceptance of this technology, many of the companies are looking for the FDA approval The plant-based vaccine production method works by isolating a specific antigen protein, one that triggers a human immune response from the targeted virus. A gene from the protein is transferred to bacteria, which are then used to “infect” plant cells. The plants then start producing the exact protein that will be used for vaccinations. Other uses of plant-expressed vaccines including the successful creation of edible bananas that protect against the

Norwalk virus Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually dev ...

References

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