Many proteases used commercially are obtained from animal organs or bacteria. These sources can be costly and not very high yielding and may include undesirable contaminants. The storage, shipping and expense cost models associated with expressing the enzyme in plants are vastly superior to the animal and bacterial sources. In addition, some applications may not require a purified form because the plant material expressing the protease may be used directly without further processing, allowing more options for formulations. ProdiGene has been able to produce commercial levels of proteases in plants, according to Dr. Howard.
Trypsin is an example of a widely-used protease currently derived from animal organs.
ProdiGene is producing a plant-derived trypsin that offers advantages for cell culture and industrial uses. ProdiGene, headquartered in College Station, Texas, is a biotechnology company that is developing numerous industrial and pharmaceutical proteins from plants. ProdiGene has rights to over 90 issued and pending patents for critical enabling technologies. The company was the world's first to successfully commercialize recombinant proteins from genetically enhanced plants. ProdiGene has the commercial expertise that provides it with a leadership position in this new field.