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WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 27, 2010) – Don’t miss your chance to get the special early-bird registration rate for the 2010 Livestock Biotech Summit.  Registration is now open, and our early-bird discounts will expire Thursday, July 29, 2010.

 The first-ever Summit of its kind, scheduled for September 28-30, in Sioux Falls, S.D., will provide participants three days of cross-cutting discussions among industry, academic and government leaders.

 Program highlights include:

 - A unique workshop tailored specifically to the care of agricultural animals in research as well as an interactive presentation on the newly revised Ag Guide.

 - Lively sessions focused on genetically engineered animals and around such topics as real life case studies of products weaving their way through the regulatory process, food and biomedical applications, and funding opportunities for animal biotechnology research.

 - Dr. Reg Gomes, Vice President Emeritus of the University of California, will speak on developing global solutions through animal biotechnology. Gomes recently retired from the
University of California, where he served as Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources for the university-wide system, Director of the California Agricultural Experiment Station and Director of California Cooperative Extension.

 - Bruce Knight, Principal and Founder of Strategic Conservation Solutions, will give an overview of animal agriculture focusing on the increasing importance of animal care. Formerly the Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at USDA and Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Knight is a nationally recognized expert on conservation, agriculture, and the environment.

 - Dr. John McGlone of Texas Tech University will be coordinating the workshop on the care and use of livestock in biomedical and agricultural research. Dr. McGlone speaks globally on topics of animal welfare, sustainable animal production, animal behavior, stress physiology and humane animal care.

 - Panels of experts speaking on the “Case Study on the First Success Story on the U.S. Road to Regulatory Approval”, the “BIO GE Stewardship Program”, “New Products in the Pipeline”, “Funding Research on GE Animals”, and “Challenges for the Future”.

Who Should Attend?

• - IACUC Members
• - Academic & Industrial Scientists
• - Genetic Engineering Researchers
• - Regulators
• - Research Animal Suppliers
• - Drugs & Vaccine Developers/Manufacturers
• - Serum and Blood Producers
• - Biomedical Device Producers
• - Animal Disease Model Developers
• - Xenotranplantation Specialists

Media Registration

All programs at the Livestock Biotech Summit are open to attendance by members of the media.* Complimentary media registration is available to editors and reporters working full time for print, broadcast or web publications with valid press credentials. Valid press credentials include:

• Official photo identification from employing news agency
• A by-lined story from employing news agency dated within the last six months
• A publication masthead listing you as an editorial contributor. Freelance journalists may also apply for complimentary media registration, but must present:
• - A signed letter on company letterhead from your assignment editor confirming your assignment to cover the event
• - A by-lined story dated within the last six months

*Web-based, college, and freelance reporters are strongly encouraged to register in advance. Please note that marketing executives, sales representatives, public relations executives, analysts, consultants, authors and researchers may not register as media.

BIO Acknowledges the Support Provided by the Livestock Biotech Summit Sponsors**

Platinum Sponsors

Hematech, Inc.

South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development

Trans Ova Genetics

Gold Sponsors

AAALAC International

Exemplar Genetics

South Dakota State University

Silver Sponsors

Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Animal Care – USDA

University of Illinois

Sigma-Aldrich

Bronze Sponsors

South Dakota Biotech Association

ViaGen, Inc.

Additional information on multi-level sponsorship opportunities and program details can also be found here.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.

WASHINGTON, D.C.– The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced its newest conference, the Livestock Biotech Summit, scheduled for September 28-30, 2010, in Sioux Falls, S.D. Focused on “Developing global solutions through animal biotechnology”, the conference will include workshops on the use and care of animals in research as well as the latest applications and benefits of genetically engineered animals.

“This is the first time we’ve done a conference like this,” said Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, executive vice president of Food and Agriculture at BIO, “With all the recent advances in both biomedical and food applications, there is no better time than now to hold this important event.” 

During three days of cross cutting discussions among industry, academic and government leaders, topics such as the regulatory process for genetically engineered (GE) animals and public and private funding opportunities will be covered.  Expert panels will focus on the science and benefits of GE agricultural animals for both food and biomedical applications as well as the regulatory hurdles and other challenges to advancing the technology.

The first day and a half of the conference includes a workshop by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC 101) and an interactive program and presentation on the newly revised Ag Guide. The last half of the conference switches to lively sessions around such topics as real life case studies of products weaving their way through the regulatory process and funding opportunities for animal biotechnology research.

BIO is pleased to acknowledge the support provided by the Livestock Biotech Summit sponsors, which include:
AAALAC International
Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Animal Care – USDA
Hematech, Inc.
Office of Lab Animal Welfare (OLAW) – National Institutes of Health
South Dakota State University
Trans Ova Genetics
University of Illinois
ViaGen, Inc.

REGISTER NOW
Register now at www.bio.org/livestockbiotechsummit

TOKYO, Mar. 12, 2009- Beef and pork products from somatic cell-cloned cows, pigs and their offspring are as safe as those from conventionally bred ones, the Japanese government’s food risk assessment body said in a draft report released Thursday.

The assessment by the Food Safety Commission, a body under the Cabinet Office, could pave the way for beef and pork products from cloned animals to be put on the market.

The seven-member commission will file a final report to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare after soliciting public comment for about a month, officials said.

The health ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will study the commission’s final report due later and decide whether to allow products from cloned animals to be put on the market, they said.

However, the farm ministry is cautious about an immediate lifting of a de facto ban on beef and pork products from cloned animals for human consumption, noting the need to listen to consumers and producers and also to study various aspects other than the safety issue.

One farm ministry official said the ministry would not take it as a green light even though the Food Safety Commission finally concluded that products from cloned animals are safe, and would not ask producers and dealers to immediately lift the current voluntary ban on the distribution of products from cloned animals, the official said.

In the draft, the commission said many cows and pigs cloned from somatic cells die at birth or shortly afterward. But it said that those cloned animals could grow to be as healthy as conventionally bred ones if they survive for their first six months.

In conclusion, the panel said there is no safety problem for human consumption of beef and pork from cloned animals.

The Food Safety Commission is an organization that undertakes risk assessment and is independent from the farm and health ministries. It is chaired by Takeshi Mikami, an authority on animal medicine and a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo.

Somatic cell cloning is a technology that uses cells of an animal to produce one that has the same genes as the parent body. In the case of a cloned cow, the quality of beef and the milk yield are said to be excellent as it inherits genes from its parent.

In Japan, a Kinki University team was successful in producing a somatic cell-cloned cow in 1998, leading the world in this field.

A total of 557 cows were born through somatic cell cloning technology between 1998 and 2008 in Japan, farm ministry data show. Of those, 82 cows are still alive.

During the same period, 335 pigs were born through similar technology, of which 35 pigs are alive.

Somatic cell-cloned animals were reported to have been born in the United States, Europe, China, Australia and Argentina.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in January 2008 that products from cloned cows, pigs and goats are as safe for human consumption as products from conventionally bred animals. The European Food Safety Authority followed the United States.

However, U.S. producers have imposed a voluntary ban on such products, while they are not for sale on the European market.

Keisuke Amagasa, leader of the Citizens Biotechnology Information Center, a Tokyo-based civic group, said he thinks the somatic cell cloning technology can be applied only for seed bulls in Japan.