Tuesday, 2 March 2021

Common bacteria modified to make designer sugar-based drug

Envisioning an animal-free drug supply, scientists have—for the first time—reprogrammed a common bacterium to make a designer polysaccharide molecule used in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Published today in Nature Communications, the researchers modified E. coli to produce chondroitin sulfate, a drug best known as a dietary supplement to treat arthritis that is currently sourced from cow trachea.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-03-common-bacteria-sugar-based-drug.html