Genzyme Transgenics Pin

In the early 1990s Genzyme Transgenics (later known as GTC Biotherapeutics) began efforts to genetically engineer goats to produce the human protein antithrombrin in their milk. In 2009 antithrombrin from goat milk, sold under the name ATryn, became the first drug produced by genetically engineered farm animals to be approved by the FDA.

While manufacturing drugs through genetically engineered organisms had been in practice since the mid-1980s, those efforts relied on microorganisms or cell lines grown in large factory-sized fermenters. Some people speculated that genetically engineered goats and other so-called “pharm animals” could make a more cost-effective source of drugs because they were less expensive to raise, provided greater quantities of drug products, and could more efficiently manufacture drugs that were difficult for single-cell organisms to produce.

This pin, an advertisement for Genzyme Transgenics, features an image of a goat breaking through a brick wall. It was collected at a biotechnology trade show in 1995.

Sources:

Accession File

“The Land of Milk and Money.” Stix, Gary. Scientific American. November 2005. p. 102.

“Drug From a Goat with a Human Gene.” Pollack, Andrew. New York Times. 7 February 2009. p. B1.

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