Cystic Fibrosis foundation has lost a great advocate in Dame Susan Devoy.

The Cystic Fibrosis foundation has lost a great advocate in Dame Susan Devoy. Cystic fibrosis and the pain it causes mothers with children who suffer from the disease is terrible but has nothing to do with the GE debate.

At no point has the Sustainability Council stopped the progress of research into any laboratory-based experiments, indeed, they consider contained research in laboratories acceptable.

Internationally, questions as to the safety of GE milks and their therapeutic viability continue to be raised. The Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) cow experiment still has 2 years to run before data can be evaluated. The cystic fibrosis sheep milk experiment has also been set back and the milk produced is yet to be proven safe for use in any disease. All these animals have been developed by inserting an identical copy of a human gene with the aim of producing GE drug therapies that have yet to be proven useful.

A flock of 10,000 sheep in Whakamaru (NZ) carrying a cystic fibrosis (hAAT) gene has been approved by ERMA for several years, the initial approval being granted for sheep with human genes in 1996.

Claire Bleakley of GE Free (NZ) in Food and Environment said "The sheep's milk has been developed to produce drugs aimed at Cystic Fibrosis sufferers. The milk has been clinically trialled on patients with emphysema and been withdrawn due to adverse effects. The clinical trials on cystic fibrosis patients are still to be started."

GE Free (NZ) in Food and Environment believes that these adverse effects should be evaluated and addressed in the current experiments by the BioEthics council and the Ministry of Health. Any further unspecified experiments like the AgResearch unspecified cow experiments with mouse, human, deer, sheep, and other genes recently approved by ERMA risk our agricultural economy and enviable animal health standard. In the meantime there are a variety of alternative medicines and therapies available already for the diseases targeted for GE cures that are benefitting patients at the moment that are not transgenic and are safe and proven.

END

Contact: Claire Bleakley (06) 3089842

References of interest,

PPL Annual Report 2001

Application GMD 02028

Application GMF 98009

Annual report 2000, 2001,GMF 98009 December 20th,

Pharming Group NV Press releases.

Gene Therapy Trials Halted, By ANDREW POLLACK,New York Times, January 15, 2003 http://www.connectotel.com/gmfood/ny150103.txt

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