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Posted: 7th July 2021

Disease-resistant gene-edited pigs targeted in agreement
PRRS causing breathing issues and death in young animals.
The Roslin Institute and Genus PLC are working together to produce PRRS-resistant pigs. 

An agreement has been signed between Edinburgh University's Roslin Institute, and Genus PLC, an animal genetics company.

The aim of this agreement is to produce pigs that are resistant to a respiratory disease which affects livestock worldwide. 

The Institute's researchers, along with the company, hope that this licensing agreement will pave the way to gene-edited, disease-resistant pigs becoming available to global pork producing markets.

PRRS or, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, is considered one of the most costly animal diseases worldwide, and loses £1.8 billion revenue per year in the US and Europe alone. It is also harmful to the animals' welfare. 

This disease causes breathing issues and death in young animals, and can result in pregnant sows losing their litters. The virus that causes PRRS is endemic in the majority of pig-producing countries across the world, and vaccines have mostly failed to stop its spread.

Pigs gave been produced by the Roslin Institute that can resist the disease, and this was done by editing their genetic code. The researchers for this project received funding for this from Genus and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. 

Interim director of the Roslin Institute, and dean of innovation at Edinburgh's College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, commented on the agreement: “Roslin is rightly recognised for pioneering animal biotechnology that enables genetic engineering of farmed animals. The strong, productive and durable partnership with Genus has been a key aspect in seeing academic endeavour translate to useful and useable translational projects for the livestock sector.”

By partnering with Genus, the Roslin Institute will benefit from an existing relationship with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and will gain insights into the pork sector, its established supply chain, and distribution channels. 

With the licensing agreement signed, Genus will continue planned work for testing multiple generations of pigs and conducting studies required for FDA approval.

Dr Elena Rice, chief scientific officer at Genus, said: “We have long and fruitful relationships with Roslin and admire the depth of Roslin's research and pioneering spirit. Together we laid out the groundwork for combating PRRS, and Genus is working with the FDA to obtain approval for this technology.”

Head of enterprise at Edinburgh Innovations, Dr John Lonsdale, added: “Animal health is a keystone of animal welfare as well as bringing benefits to food-producing economies and global food security.

“This highly specific edit to the animals to ensure disease resistance is a result of decades of work at Roslin, and we’re delighted to be helping to improve animal welfare by bringing this technological breakthrough to market through this partnership with Genus.”



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