**8. Concluding Remarks**

Although using viral-based expression systems in algae is still new, this technology has immense potential to revolutionize the algae-based biopharmaceuticals field by offering higher yields and shorter production times compared with chloroplast and nuclear stable transformation methods. The following decade will be critical, as technology will benefit from refreshed interest when supporting biomedical research in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research and development goals should be focused not only on generating

prototypes in academic labs but also on critical regulatory issues to ensure the success of new products that enter the market and ultimately benefit human health, especially in developing and emerging countries. On February 2022, Medicago, a Canadian company, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced approval by the Health agency in Canada of COVIFENZ®, a COVID-19 vaccine produced in plants. This is a milestone, as it is the first vaccine produced using a green platform approved for human use. Will algae-based products reach the same success? The following decade will be crucial in addressing this goal.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, S.V. and O.C.B.-M.; writing—original draft preparation, O.C.B.-M., G.M.; S.R.-M.; writing—review and editing, S.V.; O.C.B.-M.; S.R.-M.; supervision, S.V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by Chulalongkorn University (Grant No. ReinUni\_65\_03\_33\_18).

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Acknowledgments:** The author Omayra C. Bolaños-Martínez is an alumnus of the Second Century Fund (C2F) recipient, Chulalongkorn University.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
