GreenPharming – Rethinking the production of biological active substances

How can pharmaceuticals be produced more sustainably, independently and economically efficiently in the future? This question is at the heart of the GreenPharming research project, in which the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at MF-TUD is involved.

At the heart of GreenPharming is the vision of producing biopharmaceutical active substances such as antibodies and cytokines from renewable raw materials in a closed, eco-friendly system. Plants such as tobacco serve as a safe and efficient expression system that can produce complex proteins economically. Modern molecular technologies such as CRISPR/Cas, transient transformation technologies such as agrobacteria-mediated DNA transfer and highly developed analytical methods for quality control are used. At the same time, the project is pursuing a consistent circular economy approach: residual materials are processed into biochar, while photovoltaics and heat pumps cover the energy requirements.

A functional demonstrator has been set up at the Schwarze Pumpe site to show what climate-friendly active ingredient production can look like on an industrial scale. GreenPharming is thus making an important contribution to the transformation of the former coal region of Lusatia, to European security of supply and to the decarbonization of the pharmaceutical industry.

At the end of the first funding period, the project team led by Prof. Ali El-Armouche has drawn a positive interim balance: the foundations for climate-neutral, cycle-oriented active ingredient production have been laid and already show the potential of using tobacco plants as a biological production factory. GreenPharming is to be further expanded in follow-up funding in order to scale up the technology platform and open up additional application scenarios. In the long term, the project not only offers scope for innovative research and training, but also potential for new start-ups in the field of sustainable biotechnology.

In addition to the TUD and the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, regional partners are involved to support the transfer into practice. The project is funded by the European Union (JTF InfraProNet 2021-2027 "GreenPharming") and from tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon state parliament.

About the project