Plant-made Pharmaceuticals Show Promise for Disease Treatment - IAPO Takes Lead to Inform Patients’ Organizations of Associated Benefits and Risks
Plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) raise the potential to address a critical need for improved treatments for a number of diseases and other medical conditions suffered by people the world over, according to a soon-to-be-released Briefing Paper that examines the technology’s potential.
London, UK (PRWEB via PR Web Direct)
January 13, 2005 -- Plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) raise the potential to
address a critical need for improved treatments for a number of diseases and
other medical conditions suffered by people the world over, according to a
soon-to-be-released Briefing Paper that examines the technology’s potential. The
Briefing Paper, prepared by the International Alliance of Patients’
Organizations (IAPO), provides accurate, unbiased information based on current
evidence-based research to patients’ organizations in order to equip them with
an understanding of the science and technology and related social, ethical,
economic and environmental issues.
Albert van der Zeijden, IAPO Chair,
commented that, “Patients need to be well-informed as to the existing and
potential benefits and risks of emerging technologies which will affect them
directly. We hope that making this information accessible to patients’
organizations worldwide will enable them to make an informed judgement on the
possible value of plant-made pharmaceuticals to the patients they represent and
to engage in debate and policy-making."
Plant-made pharmaceuticals –
protein-based medicines produced in plants that have been genetically modified -
are gaining increasing attention for their potential to aid in the production of
therapeutic proteins to treat diseases and conditions including diarrhoea (one
of the leading causes of death of children in the developing world), cancer,
HIV, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis and many
more.
“There is a very large need for therapeutic improvements for a
multitude of diseases of humankind,” writes Lawrence D. Tobias in the Briefing
Paper. “There is a possibility that this need may be at least partially filled
in the future by PMPs.”
Using plants as the vehicle for pharmaceutical
production may offer a variety of potential advantages, including fast and
flexible supply to meet patient needs, lower capital investments than current
methods and the ability to produce “difficult” proteins that are otherwise
unavailable to the health professionals. Given the diversity of views that have
surrounded the introduction of genetically modified organisms and particularly
food crops around the world, it is essential that dialogue and debate between
well-informed patients, industry, academia and governments is a priority in
future discussions of plant-made pharmaceuticals.
To further develop
this dialogue, Albert van der Zeijden will present the Briefing Paper, “The use
of genetically modified plants to produce human therapeutic proteins: a summary
of existing and potential risks,” for the first time at the Conference on
Plant-Made Pharmaceuticals 2005, which takes place in Montreal, Canada from 30
January-2 February 2005. Representatives of some of the world’s premier
biopharmaceutical companies will gather at the conference, which will offer 90
speakers on a broad range of topics related to the PMP industry.
“IAPO’s
Paper is an important examination of plant-made pharmaceuticals that for the
first time examines the technology from the point of view of the patient,” said
François Arcand, conference organizer and president of Canada’s Society for
Moleculture. “We are honoured that IAPO has chosen to present its findings at
our event.”
Note to Editors:
1. IAPO is the only global alliance
representing patients of all nationalities across all disease areas and
promoting patient-centred healthcare worldwide. Our members are patients’
organizations working at the local, national, regional and international levels
to represent and support patients, their families and carers. A patient is a
person with any chronic disease, illness, syndrome, impairment or disability.
IAPO was founded in 1999 by forty patients’ organizations from around the
world.
2. IAPO’s vision is that patients throughout the world are at the
centre of healthcare.
3. IAPO’s mission is to help build patient-centred
healthcare around the world by:
• Realizing active
partnerships with patients’ organizations, maximizing their impact through
capacity building
• Advocating internationally with a
strong patients’ voice on relevant aspects of healthcare policy, with the aim of
influencing international, regional and national health agendas and policies
• Building cross-sector alliances and working
collaboratively with like-minded medical and health professionals,
policy-makers, academics, researchers and industry representatives
Global Patients Congress
25-27 February 2005, London, UK
For more
information: www.patientsorganizations.org/congress
For more
information about cPMP, visit www.cpmp2005.org or contact Sarah Fuhrmann (Tel: +1 314 721
3180).
Media Contact:
Ms Jo Harkness
Policy & External Affairs
Director
International Alliance of Patients' Organizations
703 The
Chandlery
50 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7QY
United
Kingdom
Direct Tel: +44 20 7721 7597
Fax: +44 20 7721 7596
Direct
Email: e-mail protected from spam bots
Website: www.patientsorganizations.org
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/1/prweb197629.htm