why can not plant be genetically enginnered like insulin production in bacteria?

Expert response from Michiel van Lookeren Campagne

Former Head of Biology Research, Syngenta

Friday, 09/10/2015 11:40

In principle - and at a high abstract level - there is no difference between using genetic engineering within a bacteria or a plant. Traditionally, proteins from eukaryotic organisms that require secondary modifications, such a sulfur bridges, glycosylation, etc., are difficult to make in bacteria. The pharmaceutical and industrial biotech industries are using other (eukaryotic) production system to overcome these limitations, such as yeast and Chinese Hamster Ovary cells, for example.

Insulin can be produced in plants; however the advantages of producing human insulin in plants over the current process are not compelling enough economically to make a switch in the production system of insulin. 

There are a couple of small companies, such as Medicago, making pharmaceutical protein drugs in plants. These are usually based on the fact that plant-based production is much faster and scalable than fermentation-based production systems. Therefore, vaccines or treatments for pandemic diseases are usually in their scope.