Henry Daniell links dental research with sustainability and global health

Growing up in India, Daniell witnessed unaffordable medicines’ toll, inspiring his lifelong mission for global accessibility.

Henry Daniell. / University of Pennsylvania

Henry Daniell, an Indian-origin scientist, is connecting dental research to global health and sustainability through plant-based drug development. Daniell, a faculty fellow of the Environmental Innovations Initiative and the W.D. Miller Professor and vice chair in the Department of Basic & Translational Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Dental Medicine, told Penn Today that his work focuses on plant molecular biology and biotechnology, using plant material to deliver drugs for infectious and metabolic diseases.

He said his goal is for dental students to recognize that sustainability can be part of any field. “My advice to students is that, even if you’re working in a field that seems to have nothing to do with environmental sustainability, it should never stop you from wanting to draw a connection to the environment.”

Daniell’s interest in affordable medicine began early. “I grew up in India and saw children die as a result of unaffordable vaccines or biopharmaceuticals that are accessible in other economic situations or parts of the world. This is why, when I started my research program in the United States 40 years ago, I made it one of my goals to take on the challenge of improving both accessibility and affordability of biopharmaceuticals,” he said.

He added that while the pharmaceutical industry often raises the cost of lifesaving medicines, his approach focuses on cutting production costs. “The pharmaceutical industry is hiking up costs for so many lifesaving medicines, and oftentimes, scientists cannot do a lot about that. However, what my team and I are doing is specifically reducing the production cost of the drug rather than the buying cost.”

His team’s plant-produced insulin remains stable for up to three years, allowing it to be shipped without refrigeration. “Our goal is for our product to go to any village or country in the world, no matter their climate or socioeconomic situation,” he said. Clinical trials are underway for an oral insulin medication he hopes will be affordable for patients who cannot pay for injectable insulin.

Daniell also ties his work to environmental gains. “If we consider carbon production, current fermentation technologies produce 100kg CO2 per kg drug, but plant production captures 800kg CO2 per kg of protein drug,” he said, urging students to integrate environmental awareness into their studies and research.

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