Opportunities and challenges of plant biotechnology for the production of active substances

Plants are used as remedies against various diseases since the early days of human history, and their large repertoire of chemically complex natural products still serves as blueprint for numerous modern medicines. With the advent of genetic engineering and biotechnology, this classical view is rapidly changing. Novel technologies are not only enabling the elucidation of the biosynthetic capacity of plants but also the deliberate reconstruction of metabolic pathways. Moreover, even biopharmaceuticals like Taliglucerase alpha or specific antibodies are now being produced in plants, exemplifying the great potential of plants as production and delivery system for modern therapeutics. This lecture will summarize the state of the art in plant made pharmaceuticals and biologics and also discuss future potential of metabolic engineering of medicinal plants.