Japanese specialists have hereditarily designed hens whose eggs contain drugs that can battle ailments including cancer, in an offer to drastically lessen the cost of treatment, a report said Monday.
In the event that the researchers can securely create “interferon beta”, a sort of protein used to treat diseases including different sclerosis and hepatitis, by raising the hens, the cost of the medication — as of now up to 100,000 yen ($888) for a couple of microgrammes — could fall altogether, said the English version of the Yomiuri Shimbun
Researchers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in the Kansai region kicked off the process by introducing genes that produce interferon beta into cells which are precursors of chicken sperm, the newspaper reported.
They then used these cells to fertilise eggs and create hens which inherited those genes, meaning the birds were able to lay eggs containing the disease-fighting agent.
The scientists now have three hens whose eggs contain the drug, with the birds laying eggs almost daily, the report said.
The researchers plan to sell the drug to pharmaceutical companies, halving its price, so the firms can use it first as a research material, the newspaper said.
Consumers may need to hold up a while, as Japan has strict directions concerning the presentation of new or outside pharmaceutical items, with screening forms that routinely take a very long time to finish.
However, the group trusts that the innovative leap forward will inevitably help drive down the cost of the medication to 10 percent of its present value, the daily paper detailed.
