Molecular farming

Molecular Farming is a new and emerging technology that promises relatively cheap and flexible production of large quantities of pharmaceuticals in genetically modified plants. Many stakeholders are involved in the production of pharmaceuticals in plants, which complicates the discussion on the possible benefits and disadvantages to a great extent. Discussions about Molecular Farming are often about technical and economic aspects, but other aspects like safety and ethical and societal aspects are equally important. Rules for Molecular Farming are complicated to set up, as not only the safety of the product should be safe-guarded but also the safety throughout the entire production chain, from seed to medicine. Molecular Farming may have an impact on the environment and on food safety. Also these aspects should be covered by rules. Nowhere in the world proper regulations for Molecular Farming have been enacted yet. Despite this still uncertain situation most experts expect Molecular Farming to bloom in the near-by future and more and more activities in this field are expected to be undertaken. Wageningen UR is an organisation that has built up expertise through the years on almost all the aspects of Molecular Farming. It could and does make a valuable contribution to the development of Molecular Farming such as: genetic improvement of the plant production system, downstream processing of plant pharmaceuticals, ethical and societal impact, economic, regulatory and chain management aspects of Molecular Farming and its impact in developing countries.