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and start designing them for immune acceptance—you
don’t just lower cost.

You raise the ceiling on what’s possible.

4.6 Case Study: Oral Antibodies at the Front Line

Antibodies have become one of the most powerful tools in
modern medicine—used to block cytokines, neutralize
pathogens, and modulate immune checkpoints. But their
full potential has been constrained by one major limitation:

They’ve only been deliverable by injection.

Monoclonal antibodies are fragile, complex proteins.
They’re degraded by stomach acid and intestinal enzymes.
For decades, this has meant that antibody therapies required
intravenous or subcutaneous administration—locking them
behind cold chains, clinical settings, and high costs.

But that’s changing.

With the rise of edible biologics, a new generation of oral
antibodies is emerging—designed not to survive the
bloodstream, but to act locally, where the immune system
meets the outside world: at the mucosal surfaces of the gut,
mouth, and respiratory tract.

And in that context, plant-based systems offer an
unprecedented opportunity.

Why Oral Antibodies Matter

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