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7.3 – The Rise of Local Biologic Manufacturing

For decades, biologic drug manufacturing has lived in the
realm of the elite. Towering cleanrooms in Boston, Basel,
and Singapore; rows of stainless-steel bioreactors in sterile
chambers; and global supply chains linking high-cost
production sites to specialty pharmacies around the world.
These industrial hubs have made modern biologics
possible—but at a cost:

• Capital intensiveness. Startup costs for a GMP
biologics facility routinely exceed $500 million.
• Time. It can take 5–10 years to go from molecule to
commercial manufacturing.
• Fragility. A single point of failure—pandemic, port
shutdown, contamination—can halt global supply.
• Inaccessibility. Entire continents are left out of the
production conversation, dependent on international
donations or pricing negotiations to receive
therapies developed elsewhere.

This model is excellent for margin preservation and
regulatory control. But it’s not built for access, resilience,
or local empowerment.

And now, for the first time, it’s being challenged.

Biologics Grown, Not Built

Edible biologics—especially those produced in plants—
offer an entirely different manufacturing philosophy. One
rooted not in containment and centralization, but in
distribution and biomimicry.

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