Towards high-yield production of pharmaceutical proteins with plant cell suspension cultures

“Molecular farming” in plants with significant advantages in cost and safety is touted as a promising platform for the production of complex pharmaceutical proteins. While whole-plant produced biopharmaceuticals account for a significant portion of the preclinical and clinical pipeline, plant cell suspension culture, which integrates the merits of whole-plant systems with those of microbial fermentation, is emerging as a more compliant alternative “factory”. However, low protein productivity remains a major obstacle that limits extensive commercialization of plant cell bioproduction platform. This review highlights the advantages and recent progress in plant cell culture technology and outlines viable strategies at both the biological and process engineering levels for advancing the economic feasibility of plant cell-based protein production. Approaches to overcome and solve the associated challenges of this culture system that include non-mammalian glycosylation and genetic instability will also be discussed.