HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE PRODUCED IN TRANSGENIC RABBIT MILK

HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE HAS PROVEN TO BE AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE THERAPEUTIC WHOSE FULL POTENTIAL HAS YET TO BE REALIZED. RECOMBINANT DNA TECHNOLOGY HAS INCREASED THE SUPPLY OF THIS DRUG THROUGH COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION IN BACTERIA, BUT THE EXTREMELY HIGH COST OF THIS PRODUCT HAS PUT IT OUT OF REACH FOR MANY PATIENTS. A CHEAPER AND MORE ABUNDANT SOURCE OF THE THERAPEUTIC WOULD BE ITS PRODUCTION IN THE MILK OF TRANSGENIC ANIMALS. IN PHASE I, THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS APPROACH WILL BE TESTED BY PRODUCING HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE IN THE MILK OF TRANSGENIC MICE. A FUSION GENE (WAPHGH) HAS BEEN MADE WITH MOUSE WHEY ACID PROTEIN PROMOTER AND HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE-CODING REGION AND MICROINJECTED INTO MOUSE EMBRYOS. FIFTEEN TRANSGENIC MICE HAVE BEEN GENERATED, AND NOW TRANSGENIC SCIENCES, INC., IS IN THE PROCESS OF MATING THEM AND ANALYZING THEIR MILK SAMPLES FOR HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE.