Who’s Who in Plant-Made Pharmaceuticals

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Iowa State University – As part of the “Biotechnology Information Series,” the Iowa State University Web site contains background information on PMPs.  Topics explored include production alternatives, commercialization issues, regulatory and ethical issues, other information sources.

The National Science Foundation – The National Science Foundation (NSF), a U.S. government agency whose mission is to “promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense,” provides a primer on plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs).

Pharma-Planta Consortium – The Pharma-Planta Project is a consortium of 39 principal scientists from academic and industrial institutions in Europe and South Africa. Pharma-Planta is funded for 5 years, by the European Commission as part of the Sixth Framework Programme in the area of “Plant platforms for immunotherapeutic biomolecule production.”

Purdue University – Purdue University is working in collaboration with Controlled Pharming Ventures, LLC., to develop an enclosed PMP production facility in a converted limestone mine factory in Southern Indiana.  Part of this project involves the determination of light level optimization for the growth of PMPs. Read more →

Plants on Prescription

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WIESBADEN – Tobacco has a bright future – not in cigarettes, but as a pharmaceutical production factory for anti-cavities medicine. The US company Planet Biotechnology is using transgenic tobacco plants to cultivate the human protein CaroRx, which could prevent tooth decay in the future.

Tobacco plants are the basis for new medicines. The cultivation of active and additional substances in plants – the so called “molecular farming” – was the topic of discussion among medical practitioners at this year’s Intern Congress in Wiesbaden. For the first time in this country, attention was not focused on the risks of green biotechnology, but rather on its medicinal possibilities.

“CaroRx was the first active substance clinically tested on patients with promising success and no side effects so far,” said Eva Stoeger of the University of Aachen.

Scientists at St. George Hospital London were in charge of the development of the anti-cavity agent, but both Stoeger’s group and the Fraunhofer Institue for molecular biology and applied ecology in Aachen contributed to the project decisively.

Cavities, or tooth decay, is caused by a bacterium, called Streptococcus mutans. It adheres to enamel proteins by means of small protein antennas and processes food sugars into milk acid, which in turn attacks the enamel. CaroRx recognizes these antennas and blocks them “making it impossible for bacteria to dock onto the tooth,” said Eva Stoeger.

Safe and Cheap Bio-Factories

Fighting diseases with biologically active proteins is a well-known strategy. Market leaders such as Genentech or Chiron produce so-called biologicals for the treatment of rheumatism or multiple sclerosis, but their production makes use of transgenic microorganisms, or mammalian cells, rather than tobacco plants.

The problem with using microorganisms is that bacteria deliver the proteins in the form of useless clumps and mammalian cells need to be tested for pathogens that could possibly infect humans. Plants, acting as pharmaceutical factories, are much more economical and flexible, according to the opinion of experts such as Val Glidinger, American Biotechnology Association’s vice president for nutrition and agriculture.

“It’s important to optimize the technical filtering of the proteins from the plants,” said Eva Stoeger. “Guidelines for production will have to be developed, that would have to be valid for traditional pharmaceutical companies, as well. If these obstacles are overcome, plants will turn out to be promising, safe and economical bio-factories,” said Stoeger.

This attitude is greeted with doubt by biotechnology experts in Germany. “The most important thing with therapeutically used proteins is that they have to be constructed and folded precisely,” said Ludger Wess from the information service Biocentury.

“This process is not carried out in identical ways in plants and humans. It is not clear if plants always produce the active substances in the same way and in the same amounts. The vaccine-banana, or the cloned sheep Tracy, that produces an active substance against pulmonary congestion in its milk failed on exactly these accounts,” said Wess.

Promising cavity-prohibiting tobacco tincture

The study results for the anti-cavity tobacco plant agent are nevertheless promising. Dentistry students who applied it at the beginning of the study were cavity-free for one year. For it to be allowed on the market, it will need to prove effective in a phase 3 study with a larger number of patients.

The suspicion toward genetically modified plants is widespread in Europe. It was only a short while ago that the German government passed a law regarding genetic engineering. Many biotechnologists think this law is an effort to stifle their research, as it allows institutes and farmers who sow genetically manipulated seeds to be sued if a neighboring field is contaminated by windborne transgenic pollen by more than 0,9 percent—for most, an incalculable risk. At the same time, the European Union is supporting a new project to develop vaccines against rabies, tuberculosis, diabetes and HIV from plants. The first tests with these medications are expected in 2009.

What is Hyperpigmentation?

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The skin is the largest organ of the human body and thus remains susceptible to a number of risks. One such risk is hyperpigmentation, which causes some parts of the skin to be darker in shade when compared to the surrounding area. It occurs when there is an excess production of melanin, the pigment that gives the skin its colour, which forms deposits under the skin, causing it to appear darker. The affected areas will usually manifest in any form such as sunspots, scars or uneven brown patches. There is, however, no cause for alarm, as the condition is medically harmless and only interferes with cosmetics.

Signs and Symptoms

The only clear sign and symptom of hyperpigmentation is the appearance of dark patches anywhere on the skin. The patches may vary in size and shade depending on the type of hyperpigmentation. There is melisma, a form of hyperpigmentation that occurs because of hormonal changes such as during pregnancy. Then there are sunspots, which appears on areas of the skin that are constantly exposed to the sun such as the face and hands. Finally, there is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which occurs due to injury to the skin. Note that any of these types of hyperpigmentation can affect people of all ages, race and any gender. Read more →

A Collection Of Beauty Advice That Work Well

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If you would like look prettier, you need to tweak your beauty regimen. Now is the perfect time! You could have several questions concerning how to get started and what you ought to do, but usually do not be concerned because this article will assist you. Read more for a few helpful advice with regards to your beauty routine.

Continue to keep cosmetics removal baby wipes helpful. Attractiveness specialists maintain these baby wipes all around to re-do a software of make-up that goes wrong. This means you obtain the seem you’re following. Every very good elegance regimen should include these vital collagen drinks. Try and do your beauty schedule on the schedule. In the event you invest ten minutes at the same time taking care of oneself, it will be simpler to do. Doing it in all-in-one day will overwhelm you.

With regards to the eyes, reveal individuals wonderful newborn blues and grays through the use of eyeshadow in hues like apricot, copper, and yellow-colored golds. Search for eyeliners and mascaras that happen to be really darker light brown which have ideas of dark violet, maroon or brick. These colors can enhance the look of your azure view.

A great way to keep the skin healthful would be to perform the following just before going for a bathroom or shower room, utilize a free of moisture brush that is gentle all over your system to help you stimulate sebaceous glands and assist moisturize your skin. Make use of a rounded action starting up in your ft and functioning approximately the head. Finish by rinsing with soft cleaning soap under a warm shower area. Read more →

How Does Aging Affect Your Hair?

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As we all know it’s quite unlikely your waist line gets any thinner the older you get. Unfortunately this is the problem with hair, age thins your hair. The older we get the more problems our bodies will have with absorbing the proteins we need from our everyday diet. Our hair needs amino acids, about 20 different of them. The amount of amino acids we get from our diet determines specific properties of protein molecules which are the foundation of our hair.  So our hair will appear thinners and appears less full thanks to the lack of amino acids.

We all know that elderly people get lighter colour hair. This is because it holds less pigment which is caused by the thinning hair. Another critical part is that our hair follicles, which engineer our hair, take a hit. Again, nutrition plays a big part here as follicles depend on nutrients obtained from the food. Additionally, the older we get the less our bodies absorb critical nutrients.

How to Avoid or Slow Down the Hair Loss?

As mentioned before proteins are vital. So you need to make sure you get enough of them into your body every day. Protein is essential in producing amino acids what will keep your hair healthy and also improve your general health. There are many different ways to get proteins into your daily diet. You can eat soy, grains, lean meat, dairy products, nuts, eggs or fish.

What are The Best Sources of Protein?

Fish is one of the best sources of protein. Fish proteins, known as Marine Polysaccharides, are known to be one of the best sources of protein what are needed in production of amino acids. This discovery was made by Norwegian scientists almost 10 years ago. They carried out a placebo-controlled, double blind study to prove the effectiveness of their hair restoration product called HarVokse.

How is HarVokse Different from Other Hair Growth Products?

As we know Norway has unlimited sources of fish and black gold, oil. Oil makes Norway one of the richest countries in the world and the amount of fish they have was also needed in order to create HarVokse. Scandinavians are very forward thinking people and they knew that creating “just another” hair growth product was pointless so they thought long and hard what can be done differently compared to most other hair growth products. Read more →

What has Made Women buy Premature Ejaculation pills?

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Promescent has been considered recently as one of the most effective solutions for male premature ejaculation, that’s even in the eyes of some leading urologists. It’s sale has skyrocketed in North America, and not only by men but also by women. Promescent has been featured recently even on CNN.com as urologists say it has proven these bills have become successful treatment for this well-known medical condition as premature ejaculation is. As PE has been a major problem over the years and couples are trying to find out how to overcome premature ejaculation it seems there is finally a cure what will change people’s lifestyles and satisfaction. The duration of a sexual intercourse between men and women and the variation of time in length has been a major talking point lately and it has been even coveted in the mainstream media.

Latest studies show that on average it takes guys to reach the orgasm in around 7 minutes, as ladies will enjoy their moment on around 16 minutes. The time between guys coming and girls coming is called “arousal gap” And the same “arousal gap” has been on the spot light recently because of a TV episode on Dr. Oz’s channel – “50 Shades of Grey” which was on our TV screens in late April. Historically both male and female sex partners around the globe have been trying to find different ways, albeit ineffective so far, to try and synchronize timing during the intercourse. Interruption has been a key though on so many occasions when partners are trying to have a satisfying and fulfilling encounter. The fact that men are trying to keep the timing with ladies does reduce the sexual pleasure in majority of the occasions. Latest information from Promescent has shown that before the “50 Shades of Grey” aired just 1% of orders came from female audience, but after the episode in April it has risen to more than 35%, and still rising. “Many men are still uncomfortable ordering a product associated with an issue that many still view as unusual and embarrassing, “says Jeff Abraham, CEO of Absorption Pharmaceuticals. “That’s starting to change as the arousal gap discussion is moving from the bedroom to the living room.” Even though guys have been trying all those tricks of slowing down, changing positions or distracting himself mentally, they all have demising effect on the encounter.

Most guys can sufficiently satisfy their partners but there are still plenty of guys out there who are trying to find out how to overcome premature ejaculation, especially if Promescent is not available (currently it’s only available in the States). We have found a rather brave German guy Called Peter who is doing some tests on overcoming PE. You can click on this link to find out how he is doing and what is his experience with premature ejaculation.

Therapeutic Applications of Plant-Made Pharmaceuticals

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Plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) hold great promise for helping produce and potentially enable new ways to treat a wide range of diseases and conditions, including cancer, arthritis and cystic fibrosis. PMPs are in various stages of development for use in the production of existing as well as new treatments for a range of therapeutic needs.

The potential benefits of using plants to produce therapeutic agents over other methods, such as genetically modified animals or conventional mammalian cell-based bioreactor production, include lower production costs, increased and more easily scaleable production capacity and lower risks of animal prion or virus transfer.

There are a number of PMPs in field or clinical trials today. It is likely that full-scale production and commercialization of some PMPs will be seen in the near future, while others are still several years away.

Some of the potential therapeutic applications for PMPs being explored today include:

Cancer Vaccines – Large Scale Biology (LSBC) is using Geneware (a process used to test the function of encoded novel genes and proteins, and manufacture bulk quantities of the complex proteins) to manufacture personalized vaccines for use in cancer treatment. These vaccines will be customized to the characteristics of each individual patient’s cancer, and made using genetic information obtained from cancer cells taken from the patient. Using Geneware, large quantities of patient-specific vaccine can be produced and purified within a matter of weeks.

Cancer Treatment – Under the terms of a partnership agreement between Dow Chemical Company and Sunol Molecular Corp., Dow will express in plants, an anti-tissue factor antibody developed by Sunol for treatment of multiple types of cancer. The research will focus on glycosylation, in vivo testing, and effector function. Knowledge gained from the work is expected to demonstrate the utility of plant production for injectable biopharmaceuticals.

Gastrointestinal Health, Iron Deficiency, Topical and Fungal Infections – Ventria Bioscience has been working on a method for the production of lactoferrin and lysozyme.  Lactoferrin and lysozyme are proteins found in human breast milk as well as most epithelial surface secretions including tears, nasogastric, saliva, and bronchial. Lactoferrin and lysozyme play a number of important roles in human physiology and a wide variety of potential products could be pursued through their development. Some of these include: gastrointestinal health; management of acute diarrhea; treatment and prevention of iron deficiency; providing iron delivery for infant nutrition; iron supplementation for adults; treatment of topical infections and inflammations; and alleviation of fungal infections.

Cystic Fibrosis and Exocrin Pancreatic Insufficiency – An absence of lipase prevents the body from being able to digest food lipids, leading to a condition known as steatorrhea. This condition is seen in patients suffering from exocrin pancreatic insufficiency and Cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States. A defective gene causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. Currently, the only way to acquire lipase is from cattle or pig glands, or through expensive laboratory processes. Meristem Therapeutics has been working on a way to produce lipase in a manner that is 14 times cheaper than conventional methods.

Traveler’s Diarrhea – ProdiGene, Inc. has been working in cooperation with the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, studying the safety and immunogenicity of an oral vaccine against Traveler’s Diarrhea, a condition caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli.

Other potential uses – Ultimately, plant-made pharmaceuticals will be able to produce treatments for a wide array of conditions such as cancer, HIV, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease, Crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, Hepatitis C, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, iron deficiency and many others. In addition, recently published research suggests that some day plants may be used to help produce a safe, low-cost and limitless supply of human blood products.

Production Alternatives

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Scientists are exploring other options for the production of therapeutic proteins. Some of these include:

Animal Pharming
Animal pharming describes the process of using transgenic animals to produce proteins that are used in pharmaceutical production. This process involves the splicing and insertion of a foreign gene into the chromosome of a particular animal.  The protein encoded by the transgenic is secreted into the animal’s milk, eggs or blood, and extracted, refined, and used as the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in a pharmaceutical application.

International Academy of Life Sciences

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IALS is the place people come to for education, training and research in key issues relating to the life sciences. IALS provides a compass through innovative integration across the disciplines of life sciences, law, management and technology.

IALS is an international network with members across the globe. Each member represents another network (universities, institutions, organizations). IALS also works in public-private-partnership with GBM Association for Innovation and Technology Transfer Biomedicine Ltd.