Production Systems

This chapter ties together ideas introduced in previous articles of this volume in the search for ways to use plant cell cultures as industrial production systems. The economics of a process must always be carefully considered when examining the suitability of plant cell culture for the manufacture of target compounds. The object is to produce the maximum amount of required product in as short a time as possible, using the most cost-effective method. New processes can then be compared with existing systems, and their feasibility assessed. This also requires a knowledge of the market valueof the product under consideration, the projected stability (or growth) of themarket, and the potential market share that your product could hope to attain.