Could tobacco plants eventually end vaccine nationalism?

The underlying promise of plant-based vaccines

The potential of plant-based vaccines has been known for over thirty years, but only now is it being described as a ‘feasible’ option.

Scientists are said to have used potatoes, rice, spinach, corn, and other plants to develop effective medicine against polio and malaria – though they were never taken to end-stage clinical trials due to a lack of regulatory framework.

In that time, plants have shown that they can perform at a similar level to bio reactors if modified in a targeted way. Grown in pharmaceutical-grade greenhouses, chiefly to keep out bugs and pests, these plants do not require sterile conditions.

This fact is potentially game changing when talking scalability, as it opens up the possibility of growing the contents for vaccines globally without the need for massive funding.

It may sound like a bit of a sick joke, but the key to saving millions from Covid-19 may reside in a specific plant responsible for claiming 8 million lives a year: Nicotiana (better known as the tobacco plant).

Through a process called vacuum infiltration, such plants are injected with virus particles while dunked into liquid containing bacteria that naturally infects them, called agrobacteria. While submerged, a vacuum sucks at the plant’s roots causing the leaves to shrivel before being released. At this point, the leaves re-expand and soak up the liquid contents throughout the vascular structure of the plant.

These natural bio reactors are then resettled in a greenhouse for days before being harvested. Finally, the mulched plant material is soaked in an enzyme which releases millions of virus-like particles. There is the crux of your plant vaccine.

Developments in the near future

Unfortunately, European law is still deemed a considerable stumbling block to getting legislation for plant-based vaccines over the line.

Practices such as vacuum infiltration are currently confined to heavily controlled spaces like laboratories, which throws the prospect of widescale vaccine farming out the window if enforced.

The good news is that pressure to reverse this decision is stronger than ever right now. In Spain and Italy – two of Europe’s largest tobacco producers – farmers reportedly see plant-vaccines as a profitable and worthwhile opportunity, according to research from The Conservation.

What’s more, a huge American tobacco company called British American Tobacco has recently announced its ambition to produce between 1 million and 3 million doses of plant-based Covid-19 vaccine using its crops.

Looking beyond just Covid-19 though, many nations still lack access to vaccines for measles, meningitis, and whooping cough. While these may be considered easily treatable diseases in wealthy nations, they continue to claim some 1.5 million lives a year.

As John Tregoning, an infectious diseases researcher at Imperial University states, ‘There is an overwhelming vaccine inequality between the rich and the poor countries.’

‘Maybe if you can increase the amount of different manufacturing platforms, then you can make more vaccines more quickly for more people.’