It also could reconstruct damaged tissue and deliver cancer treatments directly to tumors. When a tumor is removed, there are always residual cells at the wound. His organization has been working on the proteins for 12 years with the help of the American Red Cross. Genie and friends were engineered with the protein when they were just embryos. Thirty percent of them will have the gene, which turns on only in the mammary gland during lactation.
Researchers then harvest the protein from the sow's milk.
Virginia Tech plans to begin FDA trials in the next three years. Pharming Healthcare Inc., a Dutch biotech company, plans to manufacture the fibrin glue and another protein through a Virginia subsidiary. The idea for Fuisz Technologies hit Richard Fuisz when his daughter bought some cotton candy at a carnival. He started fiddling with cotton candy machines in his garage, experimenting with different ways to cook up pills and tablets. The process is dry, meaning it doesn't use solvents like standard manufacturing methods.