Genus and The Roslin Institute Team Up to Produce PRRS-Resistant Pigs

Animal genetics company Genus and The Roslin Institute are pairing up to produce pigs that are resistant to the devastating respiratory disease – porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). PRRS costs around $2.5 billion each year in the U.S. and Europe alone. 

According to The Roslin Record, the two groups recently signed a licensing agreement in July. Researchers hope the agreement will lead the way to gene-edited, disease-resistant pigs becoming available to global pork-producing markets.

With the signing of this agreement, facilitated by Edinburgh Innovations, Genus will continue planned work for testing multiple generations of pigs and conducting studies required for FDA approval, the release said. 

“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,” says John Lonsdale, head of enterprise at Edinburgh Innovations.

The Roslin Institute has produced pigs that can resist by PRRS by editing their genetic code, the release said. 

This research was funded from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Genus. 

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