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Biotech / Medical : Avian ("Bird") Flu Stocks

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From: serendipity101	11/10/2005 2:29:52 PM
	of 428

Food for thought... courtesy of WSJ As Roche ramps up Tamiflu production, the Swiss drug maker is turning to biotechnology to reduce its dependency on Chinese anise crops. The starting material for the production of Tamiflu, shikimic acid, was originally extracted from the pods of the star anise, which only is harvested in four mountainous provinces in southwest China. Roche was able to create shikimic acid from genetically modified E-Coli bacteria, which naturally inhabit the human colon, and this process is now being performed on an industrial scale by Dutch firm Koninklijke DSM NV. One-third of Tamiflu currently produced is made from E-Coli generated shikimic acid. The process involves a small vial of E-Coli culture, which is grown in stages and in progressively larger vessels to quantities amounting to thousands of liters. The bacteria is then fed glucose to start it excreting shikimic acid. The mixture is then fermented and broken down to extract the shikimic acid. The process takes several days. the wonders of biotech...

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