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The Biopharmaceuticals Field and Algae as Expression Hosts

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Algae-Based Biopharmaceuticals

Abstract

Biopharmaceuticals (BFs) are molecules of biological origin and complex composition including vaccines, antibodies, hormones, clotting factors, growth factors, and cytokines that are used in addressing a variety of conditions. Despite of decades having recombinant DNA technology and sustained pharmaceutical industry development, the world faces a serious need for accessible biopharmaceuticals. Access to vaccines and other therapeutics is limited in developing countries where public resources are not sufficient to make them accessible to cope with the costs associated to their production, distribution through cold chain, and safe parenteral administration. The production of biosimilars and biobetters is opening an opportunity to improve efficacy and save resources in this field. In parallel, biotechnological alternatives for BFs production are gaining interest. In particular, genetically engineered photosynthetic organisms have been explored as biofactories and even delivery vehicles. In particular, algae species have been proposed as a low cost and convenient platform for the production of BFs. This chapter serves as an introduction to this book by presenting a brief overview of the BFs field as well as the general features of algae species that make them attractive as BFs biofactories.

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  1. Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

    Sergio Rosales-Mendoza

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Rosales-Mendoza, S. (2016). The Biopharmaceuticals Field and Algae as Expression Hosts. In: Algae-Based Biopharmaceuticals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32232-2_1

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