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Scottish researchers have been able to modify genetically modified chickens, able to lay eggs, containing drugs intended to treat arthritis and certain cancers.
The cost of producing these drugs by these chickens is very economical, compared to factory manufacturing.
Scientists believe that, at the right time, production can be increased to produce drugs in commercial quantities.
Dr. Lisa Heron, of the Roslyn Institute of Technology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, explains that chickens do not suffer and live better than the animals on the farm.
"They live in big sheds, are fed and supplied with water, are looked after daily, by well-trained technicians and lead a very comfortable life."
"What chickens know is that they whiten normal eggs – it does not change their health, they scream and lay as usual," she said.
Scientists have already shown that goats, rabbits and genetically modified chickens can be used to produce proteinuria in milk or eggs.
But researchers say their new approach is more efficient, produces larger quantities and is more cost effective than previous attempts.
"The production of drugs from chickens can cost between 1 and 10% compared to factories, so we hope to be able to obtain them at up to 10% of the total cost of manufacturing," says Dr. Heron.
The main reason for this low cost is that poultry houses are much cheaper to build and operate than the clean, sanitized rooms needed to produce drugs in factories.
Many diseases occur because the human body does not naturally produce enough protein or chemicals.
These diseases can be treated with drugs containing the incomplete protein. These drugs are produced industrially by pharmaceutical companies and can be very expensive.
Dr. Heron and her colleagues have managed to reduce this cost by introducing a human gene – naturally produced by humans – into a portion of the chicken's DNA, responsible for egg whites.
Protein
After breaking the eggs and separating the whiteness of the yolk, Dr. Heron discovered that chickens contain relatively large amounts of protein.
The research team focused on two essential proteins in the immune system: IFNalpha2a, which has powerful effects on viruses and some cancers, and the other: the macrophage-CSF, developed as a treatment, stimulates the repair damaged tissue.
Three eggs are enough to get a dose of treatment and a chicken can put about 300 a year.
With sufficient chicken production, scientists believe they can produce drugs in commercial quantities.
The development of drugs for human health and the necessary regulatory aspects will take between 10 and 20 years. The researchers hope to use this chicken to develop animal medicines.
These drugs boost the immune system of livestock as an alternative to antibiotics, reducing the risk of developing other strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
It is also possible to use the therapeutic properties of macrophage-CSF in the treatment of animals, according to Dr. Heron.
"For example, we can use it to renew the liver or kidneys in an affected animal in these tissues," she says.
"We have not yet produced drugs for humans," says Professor Helen Sang of the Roslin Institute of the University of Edinburgh. "But this study shows that chickens are commercially viable, with the goal of producing the right proteins, drug discovery studies and other applications in biotechnology."
Eggs are now produced for research purposes and sold in grocery stores.
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