How edible is your vaccine?

By Balaji K.
Frost & Sullivan

In the future, children may be immunized by the simple act of eating a banana. More importantly, food vaccines might save millions who die due to lack of traditional inoculants. The future delivery medium for vaccines could be natural resources like fruits and vegetables.

The World Health Organization estimates that over twelve million children under the age of five die each year from infectious diseases. Most of these deaths occur in third world countries where preventive and emergency medical care is severely limited, making the delivery of all necessary vaccinations nearly impossible. Globally, two billion vaccine doses are needed every year, with each child requiring around sixteen primary and follow-up doses. The sheer demand for vaccines necessitates more practical delivery systems.

Edible Vaccines

The concept of eliciting an immune response via food is novel. The idea of using genetically engineered plants as edible vaccines was initiated in the late 1970's. Some of the organizations actively researching this area include Mycogen and the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research. Bananas, potatoes, lettuce and corn are some of the fruits and vegetables being investigated to find the possibility of developing an edible vaccine, which can be distributed on a large scale.

Dr. Charles J. Arntzen, President of the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, is developing a hepatitis vaccine that can be delivered through a banana. If successful, the edible vaccine would be able to save the lives of millions of children, especially in developing countries where refrigeration and sterilization equipment are prohibitively expensive. It is estimated that the banana could deliver the vaccine at two cents a dose compared to approximately $125 for a vaccine injection.

Advantages of Edible Vaccines

• Reduced production costs as there is no need for expensive purification or extraction
  
• Contamination risks associated with mammalian cell lines, yeast or bacterial production systems are eliminated
  
• Longer shelf life and there is no need of expensive refrigeration equipment.
  
• Oral administration obviates the need for needles and syringes

Research and Development and Regulatory Issues

• The optimal dosage required to produce immunity and the duration of the immune response
  
• Possible plant cell interference with antigen presentation
  
• The stability of stored fruit or vegetables
  
• Multiple transgenes may result in mutations in the plant species
  
• Categorization of the edible vaccine as a food, drug or agricultural product presents a dilemma
  
• The components of the vaccine to be patented : Antigen, genetically-engineered fruit or transgenic seeds
  
• Distribution and marketing issues

Conclusion

It will be some time before edible vaccines can be used in large-scale trials in people. However, they are likely to emerge as the savior of millions of defenseless children around the world in the near future.

Source: Frost & Sullivan

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