On August 16, 2024, the kick-off meeting for the project "From biopharming to circular economy: climate-neutral active ingredient production - GreenPharming" (application numbers: 100704177 and 100738497), which is financed by the Just Transition Fund (JTF) as part of the InfraProNet 2021-2027 funding program, took place at the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park near Spremberg. The project team, consisting of a cooperation between the Institute of Pharmacology at TU Dresden, the Chair of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the Chair of Energy Process Engineering at TU Dresden, met at Dock³ on this day to discuss the first concrete steps of the various working groups. They also visited the areas earmarked for the project in the Schwarze Pumpe industrial park.

The aim of the project is to transfer the production of active ingredients, which is traditionally based on mammalian cells, to plant-based production using tobacco plants. To this end, an overall concept for the production of active ingredients through to the processing and recycling of residual and waste materials is being developed and implemented in accordance with the principles of the circular economy and the claim of climate neutrality.

Biopharmaceutical methods are used to modify tobacco plants so that they produce the desired proteins. These plants are grown in a greenhouse under plant-optimized conditions (atmosphere, temperature, lighting, irrigation) in a largely automated process until the harvest period. In subsequent processing steps, the active ingredients are extracted using process engineering methods and purified to meet the requirements of active ingredient production. The biomass residues will then be converted into biochar using thermal processes and used as fertilizer and soil conditioner together with treated wastewater. In order to make the overall concept as energy self-sufficient and_CO2-neutral as possible , the electrical and thermal energy supply will come from renewable energy sources.

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The Institute of Pharmacology at TU Dresden focuses on the selection of biopharmaceuticals, the manipulation of the plants through the injection of agrobacteria and ensures consistent quality and functionality using validated analytical methods. The Chair of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences will advance the production of biological active ingredients in tobacco plants and the biotechnological production of plant-based therapeutic antibodies and cytokines. As part of the overall concept, the Chair of Energy Process Engineering at TU Dresden is working on the optimal material and energy supply of tobacco plants, process engineering up to the extraction of active ingredients and the production of biochar.

The innovative Green Pharming project is not only forward-looking in scientific terms, but also has a positive impact on the Lusatia region. In addition to creating attractive jobs and developing crisis-proof supply chains for regional suppliers and products, Lusatia is playing a pioneering role in the field of green pharming thanks to this project and thus has a unique selling point that will encourage the establishment of other projects in this up-and-coming region in the future.