Private cash for GM

By SIMON COLLINS

State-owned AgResearch plans to bring in private investors to help finance its controversial work on genetically modified cows.

The institute yesterday received $5.4 million a year from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology towards its GM and cloning work for the next five to seven years - a big increase over its previous funding.

But chief executive Dr Keith Steele said the institute wanted to turn this into an even bigger programme using a new company with a mix of public and private funding.

The investors would probably include New Zealand and overseas companies. AgResearch would keep a majority stake "in the short term".

"We have worked out the targets that we are going to work in, the pharmaceuticals we want to target."

An initial goal will be to modify cows to produce milk containing the human myelin basic protein for use in treating multiple sclerosis.

The institute said in January that it had genetically modified calves to produce milk with higher levels of two caseins that helped to solidify cheese and drive off unwanted whey.

Dr Steele was confident the new techniques would yield a commercial return within the five-year period of new state funding.

The venture is subject to a judicial review brought by Mothers Against Genetic Engineering of the research's approval, granted last year by the Environmental Risk Management Authority.

That case is due to be heard in the High Court at Auckland on June 9.