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Chapter 4: The Rise of Edible
Biologics
Introduction: From Factory to Field to Pharmacy
For decades, biologics have been defined not just by what
they are—but by how they’re made.
Stainless steel bioreactors. Cold-chain logistics. Precision-
filled vials.
A production model that’s powerful, but also inflexible.
Costly. Fragile. And, for billions of patients around the
world, entirely out of reach.
But a new chapter is emerging—one that doesn’t begin in a
reactor or end in an infusion center.
One that begins in plants
This is the rise of edible biologics: therapeutic proteins
grown in plants, delivered orally, and designed to act where
the immune system lives—at the surface, not the
bloodstream.
It’s a radical departure from the status quo.
And it couldn’t be arriving at a better time.
As immune tolerance falters, costs skyrocket, and
adherence plummets, the traditional model of biologic drug
delivery is straining under its own complexity. Edible
biologics offer an alternative—not just cheaper and
faster, but smarter:
• Proteins that can be manufactured in weeks, not
months
• Drugs that require no cold chain, no injection, no
clinic
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