Genetics firm's fall a lesson, say Greens

The collapse of the company that cloned Dolly the sheep is a salutary lesson in the dangers of investing millions in poor science, Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said yesterday.

Pioneering biotechnology entrepreneur PPL Therapeutics on Friday pulled the plug on its New Zealand venture in genetically engineered (GE) sheep and all but one of its GE experiments worldwide.

"The Greens have long argued that projects to genetically engineer cows and sheep to produce pharmaceuticals have put the cart before the horse," she said.

"Sheep and cattle are put through intrusive and unethical procedures to cause them to produce a human protein in their milk before that protein has been tested to see if it has any medical use."

The closure would leave at least 1000 GE sheep with a human gene on PPL's 50ha South Waikato property.

"The correct process would have been to first test the protein, which is already available from human sources," Ms Fitzsimons said.

No details have been announced on the fate of the New Zealand GE sheep.

Conditions set when the project was approved would mean they would have to be incinerated when the "field trial" finished.

- NZPA