Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome is one of the most costly diseases of the global swine industry with no effective treatment program.
However, a global animal genetics company has announced that the government of Colombia has given PRRS virus-resistant pigs the go-ahead. The company, Genus, has used its gene editing platform to develop pigs that are resistant to PRRS, deleting a portion of the pigs’ DNA that encodes a protein that the virus uses to enter and infect the pigs’ cells.
With this minor gene edit, the pig resists PRRS, as the virus cannot enter the cells and replicate.
The Colombian government is the first to issue a determination for Genus’s PRRS-resistant pigs, enabling the future commercialization of the pigs. The PRRS-resistant pigs will be treated in the same way as any other pigs in Colombia.
“We are delighted by this positive decision of the Colombian government,” says Jorgen Kokke, Chief Executive Officer of Genus. “It represents an important step towards giving pig producers the ability to address this devastating disease and to improve the health and well-being of pigs and the sustainability of pork production globally.”
Further regulatory approvals for the PRRS-resistant pig are also being sought in the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and other countries.
Genus anticipates a decision from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the first half of 2024, to be followed by a phased global launch of the pigs, subject to receiving applicable regulatory approvals. Genus will host a Capital Markets Event in London on 1 November 2023 to provide additional information on its PRRS-resistant pig development, registration, and commercialization program.
“We look forward to making these pigs available to producers in Colombia and other markets, subject to regulatory approval, but it’s important to understand that regulatory milestones like the one in Colombia don’t automatically mean we will begin sales,” says Matt Culbertson, Chief Operating Officer of PIC. “As this will be the first gene-edited pig sold commercially, we want to act responsibly, working closely and transparently with all stakeholders in the animal protein value chain.”
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) costs the hog industry in the United States and Europe an estimated $2 billion a year, said Genus. To develop resistant pigs, Genus scientists used gene editing to remove a small portion of swine DNA that encodes a protein that the virus uses to enter pig cells.
The FDA has already approved a genetically modified pig for food and use in human therapeutics in 2020. Just last year, a gene-edited calf bred for shorter hair was also approved by the FDA.
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