Another Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize went to Prof. Vidadi Yusibov (left, Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biotechnology) and Andre Sharon (right, Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation). They worked on molecular farming, i.e. the production of vaccines and therapeutics in plants - with shorter production times and higher yields. They used tobacco plants, as the virus vectors can be easily multiplied in them. A large amount of biomass is produced quickly and therefore also a larger quantity of the desired proteins. The researchers developed a completely automated plant factory with approval in accordance with GMP criteria, the 'Good Manufacturing Practice' guidelines for quality assurance in pharmaceutical production. This is a basic requirement for the production of biopharmaceuticals such as vaccines or proteins.