Title:
SA company gets R900 million to develop rapid Covid-19 test - using tobacco plants
Author:
Luke Daniel
Published:
Business Insider South Africa, 27 December 2020
From the article:
* Nicotiana benthamiana - a plant of the tobacco variety - is being used to produce Covid-19 antibodies.
* These bio-engineered antibodies will be extracted from a laboratory in Mauritius and developed into rapid test kits and potential vaccines.
* The company leading the programme is a product of the University of Cape Town's Biopharming Research Unit.