EDITOR'S BLOG
Goats
In February 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the anticoagulant antithrombin drug ATryn, made in the milk of transgenic goats.
The drug is manufactured by Massachusetts-based firm GTC Biotherapeutics using a herd of 200 genetically modified goats, and – according to the firm – the extraction process is remarkably straightforward, with milk being taken twice a day and the ATryn protein collected and purified.
One advantage of using transgenic goats over, say, more traditional CHO cells, is the cost. According to a 2007 Council for Agricultural Science and Technology report, using the protein in goats’ milk costs $20 (€15) and $105 per gramme, whilst using CHO cells can be anywhere between $300 and $3,000 for the same amount.
