This book provides an informative introduction for anyone wishing to obtain an overview of the progress being made in different areas of plant biotechnology associated with the development of vaccines and proteins from plants for use as pharmaceuticals. The information is packaged into nine chapters that follow the evolution of the methods used in plant biotechnology. The book covers different scientific challenges that have had to be overcome from the early 1990s when plants such as tobacco started to be transformed to produce vaccines, to the development of transgenic plants that contain novel and modified fatty acids that have the potential to be used in pharmaceuticals as well as paints and dyes.

The emphasis of the book is correctly on the science associated with biotechnology. However, the author does cover concerns that people raise about the development of transformed plants. This includes the challenges of managing the intellectual properties generated by public-private partnerships on biotechnology. To date very few plant-based pharmaceuticals derived from the genetic modification of plants have become commercialized into products. Kathleen Hefferon provides a very informative short review of the regulations that are in place to evaluate and regulate the human and environmental risks associated with the development of GM plants that will have to be overcome if new products are to be sold on the high street. There are many questions that still need to be addressed. This book serves as an excellent introduction to biopharmaceuticals and as a source of references for those wanting more details.