Maize plants: An ideal production platform for effective and safe molecular pharming

Maize (Zea mays), the world's third most important cereal crop, was the first plant developed into a commercial platform for molecular pharming in the field. Although there are now many different plant-based platforms, including leafy crops, fruit and vegetable crops, other cereals, aquatic plants, algae and systems based on plant viruses and cultured plant cells, maize still demonstrates the unique combination of advantages that made it the first choice for many researchers. In this review, we look at the drivers for using maize as a platform for large-scale production of recombinant pharmaceutical proteins. As well as discussing the technical merits and limitations of the species, we explore the regulatory burden that plant-made pharmaceuticals carry, and use scientific data to expose the misconceptions surrounding the perceived ‘risks’ of using maize as a pharmaceutical crop.