Researchers Look to Tobacco Pharming to Develop Potential Therapies and Vaccine Candidates for COVID-19 - ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com has published a new article "Smokers Urged to Quit While Researchers Look to Tobacco Pharming"

Smoking increases the risk factors for many respiratory conditions such as pneumonia. Many health officials are encouraging smokers to quit in order to minimize their risk of being severely affected by the coronavirus. Although the numbers quitting smoking have increased, some smokers are continuing to smoke to cope with stress and anxiety during the pandemic. South Africa banned the sale of tobacco products as part of its pandemic response. However, many smokers continued to get cigarettes from street vendors or family and friends. The sales of single cigarettes and lesser-known brands also increased as many popular brands were unavailable.

Some researchers are investigating the use of tobacco plants to develop potential therapies and vaccine candidates for COVID-19. Known as pharming, the process involves injecting other DNA into plants to grow tailored molecules. Researchers at the Institute for Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology in Valencia are using a close relative of the tobacco plant to help to produce molecules to fight COVID-19. This plant has previously been used in the development of treatments for the Ebola virus. Meanwhile, British American Tobacco subsidiary Kentucky Bioprocessing is also working on a potential vaccine candidate using tobacco plants.

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