GENET news: Protein

25.09.2008

EU Bio Directive fails to unify European law

Inconsistent implementation and interpretation of the Biotech Directive by different member states might affect the outcome of future litigation relating to biotech patents. The choice of jurisdiction could, therefore, be key to the success of an action brought in Europe under a biotechnology patent. Understanding the nuances of each member state’s laws will also be vital. The decision of the ECJ in the Dutch Monsanto vs. Cefetra case will be interesting, although the questions asked are quite narrow, and the decision is unlikely to resolve all the differences in implementation across member states.

17.09.2008

Australian Government stops funding GE virus project to kill invasive toads

FUNDING for research on a genetically engineered virus to control toads has been cancelled for fear it could also wipe out native frogs. The Federal Environment Department withdrew funding for the CSIRO research because its long-term feasibility was questionable and because it faced a major hurdle in being approved for release. [...] Prof Alford said immediate results on small-scale toad control were available for low-tech but community friendly methods such as better trapping that greatly reduced numbers. ”We’ve tripled the catch rate simply by playing back toad calls at a trap,” he said.

12.09.2008

Virus that infects mosquitoes could lead to weapon against disease

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found a new virus that infects the world’s most dangerous mosquito. Although the virus appears harmless, the scientists proved that it can be genetically manipulated. In theory, this means it can be modified to kill the mosquito or prevent it from transmitting malaria. However, the authors cautioned, that could take 5 to 15 years of work.

12.09.2008

Brno (Czech Republic) bids to be global biotech hub

The plan is to turn Brno, a 13th-century city that went the way of manufacturing under communism, into a modern biotech hub and attract firms eager to tap into a skilled work force, even as a strong currency drives up costs and wages. ”We are trying to connect industry, education and infrastructure to make it easier for companies to come here to create an environment that suits biotech companies best,” Brno’s mayor Roman Onderka told Reuters. The Czech Republic now hosts around 60 biotech firms, mainly near Brno and the capital of Prague.

26.08.2008

Eli Lilly and Company to acquire Monsanto’s POSILAC brand dairy product and related business

Monsanto Company announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell its POSILAC® bovine somatotropin brand and related business to Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly’s animal health division, Elanco, headquartered in Greenfield, Indiana, is the seventh largest animal health company on a global sales basis. [...] ”We’re pleased Elanco is acquiring this business and will continue to provide dairy farmers with this important production tool,” said Carl Casale, Monsanto’s Executive Vice-President of Strategy and Operations.

19.08.2008

Monsanto looks to sell dairy hormone business

After struggling to gain consumer acceptance, Monsanto on Wednesday announced that it would try to sell its business of producing an artificial growth hormone for dairy cows. [...] The decision comes as more retailers, saying they are responding to consumer demand, are selling dairy products from cows not treated with the artificial hormone. Wal-Mart, Kroger and Publix are among the retailers that now sell house-brand milk from untreated cows. Almost all of the fresh milk sold by Dean Foods, the nation’s largest milk bottler, also comes from cows that were not treated with the artificial hormone, a spokeswoman said.

18.08.2008

U.S. institution cancels huge HIV vaccine study, calls for alternative concepts

In canceling the Partnership for AIDS Vaccine Evaluation (PAVE) study, which would have cost $63 million, Fauci also challenged researchers to come up with a ”lean and mean” alternative. Fauci, who lately has faced intense pressure from AIDS vaccine investigators to put more money into fundamental research (see p. 530), says so much confusion exists about what a vaccine should contain that proceeding with this particular vaccine was simply too dicey. ”Given the fuzziness of all this, I’m just not willing to go ahead with such an expensive trial.” Fauci encouraged researchers to design a smaller, cheaper clinical trial that would reveal whether the vaccine has sufficient promise to warrant a larger efficacy study.

28.07.2008

Indian scientists find new enzyme to make ’healthy’ oil

Biochemists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) say they have separated a novel enzyme from rice bran that is capable of converting cooking oils containing triacylglycerol (TAG) into a much healthier diacylglycerol (DAG). The fatty acid constituent TAG in cooking oils is considered unhealthy as high levels of it in the bloodstream can lead to increased risk of heart disease and stroke. DAG oil, on the other hand, has numerous health benefits, including reducing post-meal blood TAG levels and increasing the overall metabolism, thus helping reduce fat already stored in the body.

07.07.2008

Medical research is hindered by patent laws, two Nobel laureates declare

Research into new medicines is being impaired by intellectual property laws that are no longer suited to modern science, two Nobel laureates declare today in a letter to The Times. Obstructive patents on genes and medical techniques can ”impede innovation, lead to monopolisation, and unduly restrict access to the benefits of knowledge”, according to Professor Sir John Sulston and Professor Joseph Stiglitz. While the intellectual property system was developed to ensure inventors were rewarded while sharing their discoveries, it is increasingly being manipulated by industry to thwart rivals, block research or to direct it away from humanitarian goals towards those that maximise profits, the professors say.

27.06.2008

Mars to spend £5 million to unwrap DNA of chocolate

Coming soon to a confectioner near you: perfect chocolate. Mars, the sweets manufacturer, is to invest more than $10 million (£5 million) in an effort to decode the cocoa genome, part of a five-year project to be undertaken with the US Department of Agriculture and the computer company IBM. [...] Mars has declined to comment on whether the research will lead to genetically modified chocolate - Frankencocoa, as it would be labelled by critics - and whether it believes such products would be acceptable to consumers. Instead, Mars is focusing on the benefits of genome research to cocoa farmers, about 70 per cent of whom are in West Africa. It is thought that black pod fungal diseases cost the farmers $700 million every year, a price they can hardly afford.

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