Fraunhofer researchers at BU develop vaccine "factory" from plants

Flu season beware! In conjunction with the Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biology in Delaware and pharmaceutical company iBio, Inc., researchers and engineers at the Fraunhofer USA Center for Manufacturing Innovation at Boston University have developed an automated “factory” that creates vast quantities of vaccines from tobacco plants.

tobacco plant harvesting production

Robots harvesting the tobacco plants

Akin to an industrial or automated manufacturing process, robotically-tended machines plant seeds, tend to growing plants, add genetic specifications, and harvest the plants upon maturity. The weeks-long process is short compared to traditional methods of vaccine production which can take several months.

More coverage on this story in BUToday and Engineer Magazine

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