Bayer Aims to Test Drugs Custom-Made From Tobacco Plants on Humans Next Year

Source from:  HALLE, Germany (Thomson Financial) 06/17/2008

Bayer AG. said it plans to test drugs made from tobacco plants that have been modified to meet patients' individual needs, on humans for the first time next year. The first use of the procedure will be for a treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma based on antibodies that direct the body's immune system at cancer cells, Bayer said in a statement. The German drugmaker is using bacteria to transport the manipulated genetic code of a virus into tobacco plants, instructing the plant cells to produce antibodies or other proteins for specific drugs. The genetic code of the virus will be modified depending on each patient's genetic profile. Bayer said it inaugurated a production facility in the eastern German city of Halle on Monday. The plant, in which Bayer has invested 10 million euros, will be operated by its subsidiary Icon Genetics, which it bought in 2006. ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com lb/cmr. COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News. Enditem