Monday February 11, 11:00 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Infigen, Inc.
Infigen Clones Industry's First Pigs from Adult Cells
Successful Cloning of Two Leading Boars, 'The Man' and the Late '401K,' Demonstrates Commercial Utility of Nuclear Transfer Technology for Swine Industry
DEFOREST, Wis., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Infigen, Inc., and its agriculture affiliate, Genmark, announced today the successful production of the agriculture industry's first clones of adult pigs. The clones, of two boars widely known through the swine industry for their superb offspring, were produced from non-fetal (adult) cells. Clones of ``The Man'' were born January 14 while clones of the deceased ``401K'' were farrowed December 25, January 6 and January 14. All of the clones are healthy and vigorous. Both boars are owned by Prairie State Semen, Inc. of Champaign, IL.
Infigen is a privately-held biotechnology company merging genomics and reproductive technologies to advance both animal agriculture and human health. These two boars were cloned as a result of their high genetic merit. ``The Man'' was the Champion Yorkshire boar at the 2000 Indiana State Fair. Prairie State Semen purchased him for $77,000 -- a breed record at that time. ``401K,'' was purchased by the company in 1997 for a record setting $43,000.
``Infigen's cloning of these two award-winning boars is a novel extension of our primary mission: providing superb genetics to our customers worldwide. Their -- and our -- success with these newly born clones will have a substantial impact throughout the swine industry by allowing improvements in breeding, evaluation and selection techniques,'' said Col. Jon Fisher, owner of Prairie State Semen. ``These clones, by greatly expanding the industry's access to the highly meritorious genetics of 'The Man' and the late '401K,' will benefit the swine breeding and show pig communities worldwide.''
Dr. Michael Bishop, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Infigen, said that, ``These clones demonstrate that Infigen's nuclear transfer cloning technology is a highly efficient, economical approach and a proven platform for propagating animals of high genetic merit.''
``This milestone underscores the commercial viability of our AgriCloning(TM) Nuclear Transfer (NT) technologies for the commercial swine industries.''
Bishop noted that Infigen completed three nuclear transfers from the cell line created from ``The Man,'' resulting in one successful pregnancy. Three nuclear transfers from the ``401K'' cell line resulted in three successful pregnancies.
Producers in the swine industry interested in cloning their animals can contact Prairie State Semen at 1-888-WECLONE. Prairie State Semen, Inc., founded in 1995, sells semen from eight breeds and exotic pigs while shipping semen to 49 states and several foreign countries. The company has produced thousands of champions nationwide.
ABOUT INFIGEN AND GENMARK:
Infigen, Inc., formed in August 1997, is a privately held biotechnology company commercializing its proprietary nuclear transfer cloning in the animal agriculture and human health fields. The company has an existing strategic partnership with Immerge BioTherapeutics, Inc.; a joint venture of Novartis Pharma AG and BioTransplant Incorporated, to develop genetically modified miniature swine for the study of xenotransplantation (transplantation between species). In 2000, Infigen was issued a U.S. patent covering critical processes for cloning any mammal, excluding humans, utilizing Nuclear Transfer. The company is the first in North America to have cloned three species of farm animals -- beef and dairy cattle, domestic pigs and sheep. Infigen markets its agricultural products under the trademark name of Genmark. In addition to its AGRICLONING(TM) products, Genmark also markets marker-assisted selection, diagnostic testing and tissue/cell harvesting and storage. For further information on Infigen and Genmark, visit infigen.com and genmarkag.com.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, delays, uncertainties, and other factors not under the Company's control which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performance or other expectations implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include results of current or pending research and development activities, actions by the FDA and other regulatory authorities and other activities.
SOURCE: Infigen, Inc. |
