May 2, 2024

Brazil issues positive regulatory determination for PRRS-resistant pigs, says Genus plc

Genus plc, the parent company of PIC (Pig Improvement Company), has announced that Brazil recently issued a favorable regulatory determination for gene-edited pigs resistant to the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus.

The decision means Brazil will treat the PRRS-resistant pigs the same as conventionally bred pigs.

"Brazil has embraced biotechnology and agriculture innovation to help its crop and livestock producers be more productive and resilient in a tropical climate," said Matt Culbertson, chief operations officer at PIC. "They've experienced tremendous success and have significantly increased food production and affordability over the past few decades. We are pleased the Brazilian government recognises biotechnology as a tool to improve food security, animal welfare and achieve other important benefits, and we're working to make this tool available to producers in the future."

PIC is working to secure approval for PRRS-resistant pigs in the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and Brazil, along with other pork-producing countries.

The company anticipates a series of regulatory decisions over the next few years, including a decision from the United States Food and Drug Administration in PIC's FY2025.

PIC developed a solution to protect pigs from PRRS. Using gene editing technology, PIC deleted a small portion of the pig's DNA that encodes a protein that the virus uses to enter and infect the pig's cells. Without the binding site, the PRRS virus is unable to enter the cell, replicate and infect the pig. Like humans inheriting traits from their parents, the pig's offspring will inherit the PRRS-resistant trait.

PIC operates as joint venture Agroceres PIC in Brazil.

- National Hog Farmers