GM vaccines to tackle hepatitis
8 September 2000
GM vaccines to tackle hepatitis
By FWi staff
GENETICALLY-MODIFIED tomatoes and bananas could wipe out hepatitis B, a leading American scientist said in London on Thursday (07 Sep).
Plants modified to contain a vaccine for the disease could save hundreds of thousand of lives each year, Charles Arntzen from Cornell University told scientists.
A single gene transferred into a plant is reproduced as a protein thousands of times inside the fruit, reports The Guardian.
A dried banana chip or tomato paste sandwiched in a wafer contains enough protein to act as a vaccine, but at a fraction of the cost.
Traditional vaccines require refrigeration and cost 10 for a successful course, making them too expensive for many developing countries.
- Bees to help deliver drugs?, FWi, 25 June 1999
- The Guardian 08/09/2000 page 1 and 2
See more