Gene Modified Chickens ‘Lay Medicines’
January 28th, 2019Via: BBC:
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute have genetically modified chickens to produce human proteins in their eggs.
They hope the project will one day lead to lifesaving drugs that are much cheaper to make.
The team modified the genomes of the chickens so their eggs contain large amounts of high quality proteins.
Just three eggs contain a clinically significant dose, according to the scientists.
Initially the proteins will be used in research but laboratory tests have already found they work at least as well as equivalent drugs.
Protein-based therapies such as the cancer treatments Herceptin and Avastin can be effective where traditional drugs fail but they are highly expensive.
The new research – a collaboration between the institute and the university’s spinout company Roslin Technologies – holds out the promise of a far cheaper production process.
