A global perspective on the developments in biotech regulations
Posted 28th June 2019 by Jane Williams
The ECJ ruling on GMOs has raised pertinent issues. How will it impact on current and future research? What are the optimum routes to progressing plant research?
In light of the ruling, it was a good time to welcome experts in policy and regulatory affairs to the recent 7th Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: Europe to explore these issues. We’re lucky to be able to share this presentation from the event for those that weren’t able to make it. Watch it here.
Assessment of the European Court of Justice ruling on gene editing for crop improvement
Posted 21st June 2019 by Joshua Sewell
Anyone involved in the field of agriculture and biotechnology would have been unable to ignore the ECJ ruling on case C-528/16 in July 2018. The ruling confirmed that all plants obtained by any form of mutagenesis are GMOs as defined by Directive (EC) no. 2001/18 and rejected an annulment of mutagenesis exemption (Annex IB of Directive 2001/18. With significant ramifications across the industry, the ECJ stance on gene edited crops and GMOs was a major focus of the 7th Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: Europe.
Navigating the European Court of Justice stance on GMOs
Posted 11th March 2019 by Joshua Sewell
“The breeder’s dream is, of course, of an agency which would enable him to produce at will a particular kind of mutation uncontaminated by others which would merely be a nuisance to him….”
“There is as yet no indication from genetics of how, or even whether, this could be done… The dream of directed mutation as a tool in stock and crop improvement is still very much a dream”
These words were part of a lecture given by the well-known geneticist Kenneth Mather at the John Innes Institute in 1960. Now, after more than 50 years of research, his dream of directed mutation has become a reality.
The Top 5 Plant Genomics Articles of 2018
Posted 26th December 2018 by Jane Williams
It has been an eventful year for plant genomics: we’ve seen advancements in plant disease research, the sequencing of the wheat genome, which was finally achieved through a worldwide collaboration of researchers spanning 13 years, and the ruling on the legal status of gene-edited crops.
As 2018 draws to a close, we thought it was a good time to reflect. Here, we’ve collated our top articles of the year.
EU Court of Justice Rules that Gene Edited Organisms will be Regulated as GMOs
Posted 22nd August 2018 by Jane Williams
On 25 July 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the EU’s highest court, issued a decision clarifying whether the EU would regulate products of innovative breeding techniques, like gene editing, under the EU’s Directive 2001/18, the principal EU law governing the regulation of GMOs.