Novel compositions for the production of interferons such as interferon-.alpha. 2a, interferon-.alpha. 2b, or interferon-.beta. 1a (IFN-.alpha. 2a, IFN-.alpha. 2b, or IFN-.beta. 1a) are provided. The compositions comprise components of vectors, such as a vector backbone, a promoter, and a gene of interest that encodes an interferon such as IFN-.alpha. 2a, IFN-.alpha. 2b, or IFN-.beta. 1a, and the vectors comprising these components. In certain embodiments, these vectors are transposon-based vectors. Also provided are methods of making these compositions and methods of using these compositions for the production of an interferon such as IFN-.alpha. 2a, IFN-.alpha. 2b, or IFN-.beta.1a.