Pharming

As biotechnology continues to advance in our world today, it also continues to bring great improvements to agriculture, health, and other major sectors of our economy. I am going to share with you today a seminar I presented during my undergraduate days, be sure to read and enjoy.

Made by me

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Gene Pharming

Pharming is a term that comes from the combination of “farming” and “pharmaceutical”. It is the use of genetic engineering to create a genetically modified organism (GMO). It is a useful alternative to traditional pharmaceutical development.

Gene Pharming is a technology that is used to alter an animal’s own DNA or to splice in new DNA called a transgene from another species. A few pharmed animals or plants can generate large quantities of pharmaceuticals, such as hormones, antibodies, enzymes and vaccines.

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You can pharm plants or animals, in this article, we'd emphasis more on animal (gene) pharming.

Animal pharming

Genetically modified animals also called transgenic animals are mostly used to make human proteins that have medicinal value. The transgene encodes protein that is then secreted into the animal’s milk, eggs or blood. Targeted protein is then isolated and purified.

Screenshot from presentation slides

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Benefits of pharming

• Strong farming sector.
• Diversity.
• Freedom from disease (BSE, Scrapie).
• Foreign investment opportunities.
• Medical health benefits.
• Opportunities for avoiding patent expiration.

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ANIMAL PHARMING PROCESS

• Introduction of foreign DNA.
• The embryos injected with the transgene are allowed to develop for a short time and then tested.
• The ones that are successful are put in a surrogate mother’s uterus to develop.
• Desired proteins are produced by successful transgenic animal.
• More animals can be produced either through conventional breeding or by cloning.

Screenshot from my presentation slides

Some products of pharming

√ Acceptable products: Protein drugs.

√On-going research products: Antithrombin III and Tissue plasmogen activator.

√ Erythropoitein for anaemia.

√ Factors VIII and IX.

√ Alpha-1-antitrypsin.

√ Human serum albumin.

√ Lactoferin.

√ Human interleukin-2.

Conclusion

¶ Despite the potentials of Animal Pharming, it has some challenges which includes:

¶ Like other forms of animal research, Animal Pharming has the potential to cause suffering and harm to the animals involved.

¶ Due to the fact that the nature of gene insertion of microinjected DNA are random, genes are not always expressed in the appropriate tissues or at appropriate levels.

¶ The high cost, in both animal lives and money, of making a transgenic animal is not worth the possible benefits for many people.

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References.

I visited the school library and used both hardcopies and the e-library.

1. Birnbacher, D. (2007). Pharming—ethical aspects. In M. Engelhardt et al. (Eds.), Pharming: A new branch of biotechnology (pp. 65–72). Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler: Europäische Akademie.

2. Laible, G. & Wells, D. N. (2007). Recent advances and future options for New Zealand agriculture derived from animal cloning and transgenics. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 50, 103–124.

3. R.C. Sobti & Suparna S. Pachaun. (2009) Essentials of Biotechnology. 479, 563.
   Schmidt, C (2006) Belated approval of first recombinant protein from animal. Nature biotechnology 24:877