TORONTO – Canadians have a hand in an unusual business venture that will use tobacco leaves to make influenza vaccines they plan to sell in China.
This week, Canuck vaccine development agency Medicago Inc. shook hands with Philip Morris International Inc., the world’s largest cigarette seller in a deal that will push for experiments on flu vaccines made with tobacco.
Medicago Inc. said in a statement Tuesday that it’s signed a licensing agreement with Philip Morris, which will exclusively develop, commercialize and manufacture the Canadian company’s design for a seasonal flu vaccine.
The Canadian company, with its head office and facilities in Quebec, is receiving $4.5 million USD upfront in the partnership, along with the possibility of “development milestone payments totaling another $7.5 million USD, according to a statement released by both parties.
Philip Morris already holds 40 per cent stake in the Canadian biopharma company. It has been investing in Medicago for four years.
For its part, Philip Morris hopes to harvest the Canadian research and tap into China’s markets, where the company already sells Marlboro cigarettes among other products sold in 180 countries.
“This one little plant can do 50 doses,” Andy Sheldon, CEO of Medicago, told the Discovery Network.
Flu vaccines that are commonly used across North America to cure seasonal illnesses are typically made with chicken eggs, or living chicken embryos.
The network reports that the technique has its restraints – it’s hard to change the formula when new viruses emerge mid-season, for example.
“What everyone’s looking for is something faster,” Sheldon said.
Sheldon told the Financial Post in Toronto that Philip Morris is tapping into a “largely untapped market” for vaccines that’s anticipated to expand ten-fold.
“This is not small. We now have a foothold in China with a very large Fortune-100 company at our side,” Sheldon told the newspaper.
Discovery reports that Medicago uses tobacco leaves that are first grown in a greenhouse for about five weeks, and suspended in a solution made from human-safe bacteria found in soil. It’s this solution that allows plants to produce influenza viral proteins essential in the vaccine.
The leaves are then crushed and purified to create the vaccine, according to the network.
Molecular farming has been promising for scientists attempting to produce vaccines cheaper than most traditional procedures.
In some cases, scientists manipulate the genetics of plants, such as tobacco, safflower and alfalfa to produce certain outcomes.
Discovery also says that the Medicago process is significantly less costly compared to using egg-based facilities in vaccine production.
It would cost $350 to $400 million to produce between 40 and 50 million seasonal flu vaccine doses, while inMedicago’s facilities, $36 million would be needed.
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