Plant-derived pharmaceuticals--the road forward

Plant-derived pharmaceuticals are poised to become the next major commercial development in biotechnology. The advantages they offer in terms of production scale and economy, product safety, ease of storage and distribution cannot be matched by any current commercial system; they also provide the most promising opportunity to supply low-cost drugs and vaccines to the developing world. However, despite the promised benefits, the commercialization of plant-derived pharmaceutical products is overshadowed by the uncertain regulatory terrain, particularly with regard to the adaptation of good manufacturing practice regulations to field-grown plants. The success of such products also depends on careful negotiation of the intellectual property landscape, particularly the achievement of freedom-to-operate licenses for use in developing countries.