Argentina cow clone step toward more plentiful and cheaper growth drug.

The birth of Argentina's first cloned calf marks the first step in the country's development of cloned and genetically modified cows capable of producing less expensive human growth hormone (hGH) and other costly medicines.

The human gene responsible for producing hGH was inserted into the Jersey calf Pampa when she was still an embryo. Theoretically, the presence of this gene will make it possible for her to produce hGH in her milk when she reaches maturity. The birth of 4 other calves containing the gene is expected in September.

"Within 4 years, we may have a [decent number] of cows producing daily several grams of hGH in their milk," said Carlos Melo, PhD, researcher and development manager at Bio Sidus, the Buenos Aires company directing the research.

Once the hormone is collected in the cows' milk, scientists will have to purify and formulate it as a medicinal product, which may result in the loss of 50% to 80% of the protein, Melo said. Even so, increased production levels could lower the cost of cow-derived hGH by as much as 90% of the price of the currently available recombinant product, which is produced by conventional bacterial fermentation. An adult Jersey cow produces around 10 liters of milk a day, at least 200 days in the year. Bio Sidus expects that every single cloned cow will eventually produce 2 kilograms of raw hGH annually.

In Argentina alone, some 1000 children with dwarfism take hGH daily to spur growth.