Technology Comparison

Vaccines, antibodies and therapeutic proteins are currently produced in bacteria and yeast (microbes), in mammalian and insect cell culture and in transgenic animals.

Influenza vaccines are produced in millions of fertilized chicken eggs, taking up to six months, which makes it difficult to react to mutating virus strains and limits the amount that can be produced each flu season.

The iBioLaunch™ platform has significant advantages over current production methods, and over systems being developed in transgenic plants:

System
Overall CostProduction
Timescale
Scale-up
Capacity
Product
Quality
GlycosylationContamination
Risks 
Storage
Costs 
MicrobialLow - MediumShort - MediumHighLow - MediumNone or Incorrect EndotoxinsModerate
Cell cultureHighLongVery lowVery highCorrect Viruses, prions,
oncogenic DNA
Expensive
Transgenic
animals
HighVery longLowVery highCorrect Viruses, prions,
oncogenic DNA
Expensive
Transgenic
plants
Very lowLongVery high
HighMinor differencesLow riskInexpensive
iBioLaunch™
in plants
Very lowShortVery highHighMinor differences Low riskInexpensive

Source: Ma et al. (2003) Nature Reviews Genetics 4:794-805.