SmartCell project: Novel plant biotechnology approach for sustainable production of pharmaceutical compounds

European scientists have made ground-breaking discoveries for improving the efficiency of the production of pharmaceuticals through plant biotechnology. Biotechnological production offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to the chemical synthesis of rare and complex pharmaceutical compounds currently isolated from plants. The results have been achieved in the European SmartCell project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Several expensive anticancer alkaloid blockbusters used in chemotherapy, such as terpenoid indole alkaloids - vinblastine