What is genetic pharming?

Genetic pharming is the creation of pharmaceuticals using genetically engineered animals or plants. It offers a relatively inexpensive way to produce and maintain hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines in large quantities. Scientists modify animals to produce milk containing therapeutic substances, such as the human enzyme alpha-1 antitrypsin used to treat cystic fibrosis and emphysema. Plants can also be engineered to produce therapeutic substances, known as plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs), such as vaccines, that are extracted from the plant. Despite its potential, genetic pharming faces controversies regarding the safety of pharmed agents and their production, as well as regulations to prevent PMPs from entering the environment and food supply.

How does pharming use animals or plants?

Pharming uses genetically engineered animals or plants to produce pharmaceuticals. It offers a relatively inexpensive way to generate large quantities of hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines. One of the first examples of animal pharming was a sheep named Tracy, engineered to produce milk containing a human enzyme used to treat cystic fibrosis and emphysema. Plants such as corn, rice, and tobacco have also been investigated for their pharming potential. Plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) are extracted and purified from the plants. Despite its advantages, concerns about safety and regulations have made pharming controversial.

What is the purpose of adding new genes to organisms in pharming?

In pharming, new genes are added to organisms to enable them to produce pharmaceuticals, such as hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines. This genetic engineering allows for the relatively inexpensive production and maintenance of these organisms, be they animals or plants. A small number of genetically engineered livestock or a small field of plants can generate large quantities of these pharmaceuticals. The added gene, known as a transgene, inserts itself into a chromosome and is passed on as a new component of the genome. The resulting organism carrying the transgene is called a transgenic organism or a genetically engineered organism.

What are some examples of products created by pharming?

Pharming uses genetically engineered animals or plants to create pharmaceuticals. It offers a relatively inexpensive way to produce hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines. One of the first examples of pharming was a sheep named Tracy, who was engineered to produce milk containing the human enzyme alpha-1 antitrypsin, used to treat cystic fibrosis and emphysema. Another sheep, Polly, was engineered to produce human factor IX, a clotting factor absent in people with hemophilia. The first pharmed agent produced by animals to gain approval for therapeutic use was recombinant human antithrombin (ATryn\u00ae), used to prevent heart attack and stroke and secreted in the milk of genetically engineered goats. Plants such as corn, rice, potatoes, and tobacco have been investigated for their pharming potential, such as a vaccine against H5N1 (bird flu).

What are possible benefits and risks of pharming in genetics?

Pharming, using genetically engineered animals or plants to produce pharmaceuticals, offers benefits such as cost-effectiveness and the ability to generate large quantities of drugs like hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines. For example, sheep have been engineered to produce human enzymes and clotting factors in their milk. However, it faces controversies regarding the safety of pharmed agents and their production. Plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) also require strict regulations to prevent their entry into the environment and food supply, which poses a significant challenge to the advancement of plant pharming.

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Plants such as tobacco are being explored for their potential for pharming, which entails the genetic modification of an animal or a plant for the production of pharmaceutical compounds.

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Key People:: Ian Wilmut

Related Topics:: genetically modified organism; genetic engineering; pharmaceutical

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What is genetic pharming?
Genetic pharming is the creation of pharmaceuticals using genetically engineered animals or plants. It offers a relatively inexpensive way to produce and maintain hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines in large quantities.

Scientists modify animals to produce milk containing therapeutic substances, such as the human enzyme alpha-1 antitrypsin used to treat cystic fibrosis and emphysema. Plants can also be engineered to produce therapeutic substances, known as plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs), such as vaccines, that are extracted from the plant.

Despite its potential, genetic pharming faces controversies regarding the safety of pharmed agents and their production, as well as regulations to prevent PMPs from entering the environment and food supply.
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Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How does pharming use animals or plants?
Pharming uses genetically engineered animals or plants to produce pharmaceuticals. It offers a relatively inexpensive way to generate large quantities of hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines.

One of the first examples of animal pharming was a sheep named Tracy, engineered to produce milk containing a human enzyme used to treat cystic fibrosis and emphysema. Plants such as corn, rice, and tobacco have also been investigated for their pharming potential. Plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) are extracted and purified from the plants.

Despite its advantages, concerns about safety and regulations have made pharming controversial.
1 Britannica Source
1. pharming
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What is the purpose of adding new genes to organisms in pharming?
In pharming, new genes are added to organisms to enable them to produce pharmaceuticals, such as hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines. This genetic engineering allows for the relatively inexpensive production and maintenance of these organisms, be they animals or plants. A small number of genetically engineered livestock or a small field of plants can generate large quantities of these pharmaceuticals.

The added gene, known as a transgene, inserts itself into a chromosome and is passed on as a new component of the genome. The resulting organism carrying the transgene is called a transgenic organism or a genetically engineered organism.
2 Britannica Sources
1. recombinant DNA: Genetically engineered organisms
2. pharming
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How are medicines made using pharming?
Pharming uses genetically engineered animals or plants to create pharmaceuticals. It offers a relatively inexpensive way to produce hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines.

In animal pharming, animals are engineered to produce therapeutic substances, such as recombinant human antithrombin secreted in the milk of genetically engineered goats. The substance is then isolated and purified from the milk.

In plant pharming, plants are genetically engineered to express a gene that produces a therapeutic substance, which are called plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs). PMPs can be extracted and purified from seeds, leaves, or tubers, depending on the plant.
1 Britannica Source
1. pharming
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some examples of products created by pharming?
Pharming uses genetically engineered animals or plants to create pharmaceuticals. It offers a relatively inexpensive way to produce hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines.

One of the first examples of pharming was a sheep named Tracy, who was engineered to produce milk containing the human enzyme alpha-1 antitrypsin, used to treat cystic fibrosis and emphysema. Another sheep, Polly, was engineered to produce human factor IX, a clotting factor absent in people with hemophilia.

The first pharmed agent produced by animals to gain approval for therapeutic use was recombinant human antithrombin (ATryn\u00ae), used to prevent heart attack and stroke and secreted in the milk of genetically engineered goats.

Plants such as corn, rice, potatoes, and tobacco have been investigated for their pharming potential, such as a vaccine against H5N1 (bird flu).
1 Britannica Source
1. pharming
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are possible benefits and risks of pharming in genetics?
Pharming, using genetically engineered animals or plants to produce pharmaceuticals, offers benefits such as cost-effectiveness and the ability to generate large quantities of drugs like hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines. For example, sheep have been engineered to produce human enzymes and clotting factors in their milk.

However, it faces controversies regarding the safety of pharmed agents and their production. Plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) also require strict regulations to prevent their entry into the environment and food supply, which poses a significant challenge to the advancement of plant pharming.
1 Britannica Source
1. pharming
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

pharming, the generation of pharmaceuticals using animals or plants that have been genetically engineered. Pharming is a useful alternative to traditional pharmaceutical development because genetically engineered livestock and plants are relatively inexpensive to produce and maintain. In addition, a small number of pharmed animals or a small field or greenhouse of pharmed plants can generate large quantities of pharmaceuticals, such as hormones, antibodies, enzymes, and vaccines. However, despite these advantages, pharming remains controversial due to concerns about the safety of pharmed agents and their production.

One of the first mammals engineered successfully for the purpose of pharming was a sheep named Tracy, born in 1990 and created by scientists led by British developmental biologist Ian Wilmut at Roslin Institute in Scotland. Tracy was created from a zygote (a single-celled fertilized embryo) genetically engineered through DNA injection to produce milk containing large quantities of the human enzyme alpha-1 antitrypsin, a substance used to treat cystic fibrosis and emphysema. In 1997 Wilmut and his colleagues generated another pharmed sheep named Polly, a Poll Dorset clone made from nuclear transfer using a fetal fibroblast nucleus genetically engineered to express a human gene known as FIX. This gene encodes a substance called human factor IX, a clotting factor that occurs naturally in most people but that is absent in people with hemophilia, who require replacement therapy with a therapeutic form of the substance. Polly, along with two other sheep engineered to produce human factor IX that also were born in 1997, represented a major advance in animal pharming.

The first pharmed agent produced by animals to gain approval for therapeutic use was recombinant human antithrombin (marketed as ATryn®), an agent that inhibits blood clotting and that is used for the prevention of heart attack and stroke in high-risk patients. This agent is secreted in the milk of genetically engineered goats. It is then isolated and purified from the milk, which is subject to rigorous safety testing, including analysis for the presence of pathogens (disease-causing substances).

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