Chlorogen

Chlorogen was a biopharmaceutical company based in St. Louis, Missouri, that specialized in "molecular farming" using its proprietary chloroplast transformation technology (CTT). By engineering the chloroplast genome of tobacco plants rather than the nuclear genome, the company aimed to produce high yields of therapeutic proteins and vaccines with reduced environmental risk of cross-pollination. Its lead development programs included a plant-derived interferon for Hepatitis C and protein-based therapies for gynecological cancers, specifically targeting ovarian cancer. Despite securing significant venture capital and establishing a partnership with Sigma-Aldrich for research-grade proteins, the company became defunct in the late 2000s as the plant-made pharmaceutical industry faced regulatory and commercialization hurdles.