Plant molecular farming, moleculture and pharming are all words that refer to the production of pharmaceutical or industrial compounds by genetically manipulated plants. After plants resistant to pesticides, insects, cold, drought and others with improved nutritional characteristics, scientists are now turning their attention to the production of pharmaceutically and industrially useful biomolecules by plants.
The following research report focuses on the production of drugs from genetically manipulated plants. The molecular farming industry is emerging in Canada. Plant molecular farming appears to offer economic and technical advantages for the production of pharmaceutical substances: lower production costs compared with traditional methods, and safer products for consumers.
Of course, any new technology has its share of risks. Molecular farming is no exception. Concerns have been raised about the impact of molecular farming on human and animal health, as well as on the environment. As some of the plants used for molecular farming are grown in fields, some fear contamination of the agri-food chain by pharmaceutical molecules.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is currently attempting to regulate molecular farming by establishing guidelines for plant field trials. These regulations must be proactive in order to meet the demands of both the molecular farming industry and the public for clear, rigorous and transparent legislation.
The Canadian government and the biotech industry involved in molecular farming currently face a number of challenges. In particular, they need to implement a consumer information strategy. Consumers are not sufficiently familiar with this new method of drug production to be able to understand what it's all about and assess the benefits as well as the risks.
