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Why was Polly the sheep important for pharming research?

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cloning The first clone of an adult mammal, Dolly the sheep, at the Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh.

Polly the sheep was a significant milestone in pharming because she demonstrated the successful combination of cloning and genetic engineering to produce therapeutic proteins.12

Born in 1997, Polly was created via nuclear transfer using a fetal fibroblast nucleus that had been genetically modified to express the human gene FIX. This gene encodes human factor IX, a vital blood-clotting protein that is missing in individuals with hemophilia.12

By successfully producing a clone capable of expressing this human therapeutic substance, Polly—along with two other sheep born that same year—represented a major advancement in the field of pharming, which seeks to use genetically engineered animals to generate pharmaceuticals in a cost-effective manner. This research highlighted the potential for livestock to serve as biological factories for life-saving medical treatments.12