The European Medicine Agency and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published in September the proceedings of a joint workshop held to address questions related to progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare and sometimes fatal brain disease that can occur as an adverse drug reaction to some therapeutics that affect immunological functions. The meeting attended [...]
This story was the lead news story in the August Nature Biotechnology: [html] [pdf]. This spring’s outbreak of a virulent form of Escherichia coli in Germany and France provoked a rapid response from public health authorities and the research community. Not only did the response represent a triumph of global collaboration in rapidly characterizing the [...]
My latest news item for Nature Biotechnology is about how the government agency which regulates new genetically-modified crops is out-sourcing some of its work. [html] [pdf] Companies seeking approval for new biotech crops can now prepare their own environmental study or hire an outside contractor to do so. The new options, announced by the US [...]
Monsanto acquired a stake in Sapphire Energy, a San Diego–based algae fuel company known for its prominent backers, including Bill Gates’s firm Cascade Investment, in Kirkland, Washington, and the Wellcome Trust, in London. Through the deal (figures were not disclosed), the St. Louis agriculture giant gains access to Sapphire’s expertise and technology for isolating algal [...]
A defamation case that hinges on a dispute over the presence of genetic modification in Peruvian maize crops, and that has attracted international attention, has moved back to square one — with a twist. Biologist Ernesto Bustamante Donayre was last April found guilty of defamation — a criminal offence in Peru — for publicly criticizing [...]
Seed producers will be allowed to plant biotech sugar beets again following a September decision from the United States Department of Agriculture’s crop approval arm to allow planting under interim guidelines. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will issue limited permits to seed developers authorizing genetically modified (GM) beet planting this fall as [...]
A judge has prohibited Bayer Cropscience from marketing Liberty Link corn, a genetically modified crop resistant to Ignite and Liberty herbicides, in Brazil. If the Leverkusen, Germany–based company fails to suspend marketing, planting, transportation and import immediately, it will be fined R$50,000 ($28,500) a day. This ruling issued in July by an environmental court in [...]
The European Commission (EC) is inviting biotech firms to apply for research grants, if partnered with academia. For the first time, a quarter of the biotech-specific grants will require the participation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The EC plans to hand out €240.3 million ($310.2 million) in direct research grants in 2011, up 26% [...]
Cassava breeds that are resistant to two major viruses could soon be available to farmers in Africa. Cassava mosaic disease and brown streak disease stunt the growth and rot the roots of crops, respectively. Mosaic disease alone destroys an estimated 35 million tonnes of African cassava a year — the difference between needing to import [...]
The African Union has set up a school to educate and train future regulators in genetically modified (GM) crop biosafety. The African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE) was officially launched in April in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, with a five-year, $10.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This continent-wide initiative, administered by the [...]