Researchers are drawing new drugs from the egg

LONDON (Reuters) – A team of British researchers has shown that genetically modified chickens can produce effective substances in their eggs used in human medicine.

The researchers published their findings Thursday in the journal BMC Biotechnology.

The researchers explained that these substances consist of egg white proteins and can be separated later for use as drugs.

Although a German expert confirmed in her badessment of the results of the study that this was useful, she expressed her skepticism that these results could lead to a major change.

The researchers, under the supervision of Helen Sang of the University of Edinburgh, focused on two different proteins: interferon is an effective substance used against various forms of cancer and hepatitis , while CSF is a drug that can stimulate tissue recovery.

The researchers found that genetically modified chickens initially produced a large amount of interferon, so that only three eggs were enough to get a proper amount of protein for drug use.

The researchers said the materials extracted from the eggs were at least as clean as those made in cell cultures and equally effective.

They found no negative effect on the health of the chickens.

However, said Sang in a statement about his university: "We have not yet made any drugs for humans, but the study demonstrates the possibility of using chicken commercially to produce protein suitable for drug development and other applications of biological technology.

The idea of ​​making proteins that can be used in the pharmaceutical industry with genetically modified animals is not new, the European Union said in 2006, according to researchers, by selling a milk-derived drug goat genetically modified.

"Chickens are relatively cheaper and you can get a lot of them in a short time," the researchers said.

Angelica Schnicke, from the University of Munich for Applied Sciences, said that it was not possible to produce very active organic proteins from milk because animal are very important. "Although it does not play any role with regard to the egg, finely covered with crust."

"In principle, there are opportunities to produce proteins used in the pharmaceutical industry with the help of genetically modified animals," she said. "This possibility is feasible because it could be more expensive than cell cultures."

"Such proteins have so far been produced in large containers with genetically modified bacteria, yeasts or mammalian cells," she said.

Schnicke, however, does not foresee a promising future for the production of active ingredients for genetically modified animals. "I can not imagine that this area will recover."

The German expert has justified the existence of ethical reservations in society with regard to these genetic modifications in animals and has stated that, even if the production of efficient materials using cell farms costs more expensive, many people ask: "Why do we use animals as long as there is an alternative?

But chicken is very important in the influenza vaccine industry, where virus particles are injected into egg whites during the incubation period. These particles have multiplied in 10 to 11 days to reach billions of copies of the virus. Chemical additives for use in the manufacture of innocuous but effective vaccines.