Growing Insulin and GLP-1 Drugs in Plants and Algae to Make Them Affordable | Research

The takeaway

Plant- and microalgae-based biotechnology could dramatically reduce the cost of producing insulin and GLP-1 drugs while enabling oral delivery.

Affordable + oral delivery
Plant/algae production could cut costs and enable oral antidiabetic peptide delivery

What the researchers found

Plant- and microalgae-based biotechnological platforms offer affordable production and non-invasive (oral) delivery strategies for antidiabetic peptides including insulin and GLP-1 RAs.

Why it matters

Diabetes drug costs are a global crisis. Making insulin and GLP-1 drugs in plants could reduce costs by orders of magnitude and eliminate injection barriers.

How the study worked

Review of biotechnological strategies for producing antidiabetic peptides in plant and microalgae systems, evaluating cost reduction and oral delivery potential.

What this study cannot tell us

Review of emerging technology — most plant-produced peptides are still in development. Regulatory hurdles, dosing consistency, and stability remain significant challenges.

How to read the evidence

Review of biotechnology platforms — summarizes potential but most systems remain in development.

When this study was published

Published in 2026; covers the latest plant molecular farming advances.

The bigger picture

Plant molecular farming could disrupt pharmaceutical manufacturing for peptide drugs, making treatments accessible in low- and middle-income countries where diabetes burden is growing fastest.

Questions still open

How soon could plant-produced insulin be commercially available?
Can plant-produced GLP-1 drugs achieve the same efficacy as synthetic versions?

Common questions

Can plants produce insulin?

Yes — plants and microalgae can be genetically engineered to produce human insulin and GLP-1 drugs. This could dramatically reduce manufacturing costs and potentially enable oral delivery.

Would plant-produced insulin be safe?

Plant-produced peptides must meet the same safety and purity standards as conventionally manufactured drugs. Regulatory frameworks are being developed, and early results show promising quality.

Read the original research

Plant- and Microalgae-Based Biotechnological Strategies for Affordable and Non-Invasive Delivery of Antidiabetic Peptides.

Pharmaceutics, 18(2)

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Boscart, Thibault; Barras, Alexandre; Plaisance, Valérie; Pawlowski, Valérie; Giovanelli, Emerson; Bardor, Muriel; D'Hulst, Christophe; Abderrahmani, Amar. (2026). Plant- and Microalgae-Based Biotechnological Strategies for Affordable and Non-Invasive Delivery of Antidiabetic Peptides.. Pharmaceutics, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18020223