And Planet Biotechnology Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., keeps the location of its greenhouses secret to prevent vandalism by protesters, as has happened to companies growing modified food products. Techniques are also being developed to prevent cross-pollination. CropTech, for instance, said its tobacco would be harvested before sexual maturity. Some drugs needed in small quantities might be grown only in greenhouses, rather than open fields. Just as with food, biocrops should be able to produce large quantities of drugs at low cost, advocates say.
Drugs made in such factories can cost thousands of dollars per gram to produce.
For many biotechnology drugs already on the market, this is not a problem because prices are high and only minuscule amounts are needed. But some drugs under development, like an antibody-containing cream for herpes, are likely to require much larger quantities and not to be able to command high prices. It's just not going to be cost effective to do so. Planet Biotechnology is in clinical trials of an antibody, produced in genetically altered tobacco, that blocks the bacteria that cause tooth decay. Elliott L. Fineman, the chief executive, said it would be impossible to use mammalian cells to produce the 600 kilograms a year that might be needed in a cost-effective way.