Biopharming can help pioneer new treatments but cumbersome, outdated regulations block innovation
Obtaining medicines from plants is not new. Aspirin was first isolated from the bark of the willow tree in the 18th century, and many other common pharmaceuticals have been purified from the world’s flora. These medicines include morphine, codeine, digitalis, the laxative Metamucil, and the anti‐cancer drugs paclitaxel and vinblastine. A notable plant‐derived product that has emerged from traditional Chinese medicine is artemisinin, an important treatment for malaria.Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, many laboratories are reorienting their research to not only look at promising com...
Source: geneticliteracyproject.org
