Plant-based drug manufacture project launched
AEuro 8.5m research project has been launched that will develop plants able to be sources of complex pharmaceutical compounds especially useful for fighting malaria and cancer.
AEuro 8.5m research project has been launched that will develop plants able to be sources of complex pharmaceutical compounds especially useful for fighting malaria and cancer.
The EU-funded SmartCell project will focus on controlling the metabolism of plant cells to create a "green factory" for pharmaceuticals, said the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, which is co-ordinating the project. It said researchers would focus in particular on terpene compounds, which are valuable for medicine manufacturers.
"The latest research methods can be used to intensify the production of valuable agents in plant cells," said VTT's chief research scientist Kirsi-Marja Oksman-Caldentey. Work should start in the New Year.