ANIMALNET JULY 22, 1998-II

Canada -- whale hunt
New scientific journal: Cloning: science and policy
Cloning: a flock of mice
Cloning: Dolly's  DNA profile
News of cloned mice represents key step in realizing commercial potential
of nuclear transfer technology
Roslin Institute: Dolly the sheep's provenance upheld
UK's PPL Therapeutic in new cloning deal
Bovine TB may have spread south in Michigan
Genetic diversity needs protection
Using DNA to disable diseases
Lyme disease vaccine study proves safe and 92 per cent effective in adults
Saskatchewan elk disease appears to be waning
Researchers seek help
Saskatchewan signs on to beef levy for research
Causes of lead poisoning
Yogurt container redesigned, but animal advocates turn up their noses
PIC restructures board to focus on ag biotech


AnimalNet is produced by researchers at the Agri-Food Risk Management and
Communication Project at the University of Guelph, is edited by Douglas
Powell (dpowell@uoguelph.ca) and Amanda Whitfield (awhitfie@uoguelph.ca),
and is supported by the Ontario Cattlemen's
Association, the U.S. National Pork Producers, U.S. National Food
Processors Association, Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited (Canada), the U.S.
National Cattlemens Beef Association, Canadian Animal Health Institute,
The Rutgers University Food Safety Extension Program, National Cattlemans
Beef Association, and the Agricultural Adaptation Council (CanAdapt
Program).

CANADA-WHALE HUNT
July 22/98
 AP
 PANGNIRTUNG, Northwest Territories -- Inuit hunters in canoes have killed
a bowhead whale in the Canadian Arctic, sparking celebrations in their
hometown but dismaying conservationists.
 It was the first hunt of this endangered species in the small Baffin
Island community of Pangnirtung in 50 years.
The Inuit, which the story says were formerly know as Eskimos, have killed
few of the whales in the last five decades because of tight restrictions
by the federal government.
 During land-claims negotiations leading up to the creation of Nunavut,
the Inuit obtained the right to resume bowhead hunting, subject to federal
approval.
 News of the successful hunt of a 43-foot whale spread quickly through the
region. The whale was butchered Tuesday at the hunters' base camp, with
meat and portions of its blubbery outer layer to be shipped to communities
throughout Nunavut.
 The hunt was criticized by animal-rights activists and marine biologists
because the bowhead whale is on both Canadian and international lists of
endangered species.

NEW SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL: CLONING: SCIENCE AND POLICY
 Co-Editors-in-Chief are Ian Wilmut, Ph.D., and Lee Silver, Ph.D.
July 22/98
PRNewswire
 LARCHMONT, N.Y. -- Cloning: Science and Policy, a new peer-reviewed
journal co-edited by Ian Wilmut, Ph.D., and Lee Silver, Ph.D., has been
announced by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (www.liebertpub.com). The
first issue will be published in December.
 "The Journal will cover all aspects of cloning research and
applications," said Ian Wilmut, Ph.D. (Roslin Institute), who cloned
Dolly, the sheep. "It will include papers on original investigations into
cellular and molecular biology of de-differentiating embryonic stem cells
and methods of genetic modifications of animals including germ line gene
therapy in humans."
 "The new results reported by Ryuzo Yanagimachi, Ph.D., and other
researchers at the University of Hawaii demonstrate that cloning is no
longer just a single scientific result but a burgeoning new technology,"
said Lee Silver, Ph.D., (Princeton University). "In light of these new
results, the establishment of this Journal is more important than ever we
will publish both the science and cover the many complex policy and
ethical issues that are arising already and will grow as new advances in
cloning take place." In a talk given at a scientific meeting last month,
Dr. Yanagimachi spoke of the difficulty of getting this paper published;
"A journal focusing on cloning will be an important contribution both to
the literature and to the field itself," continued Dr. Silver.
 The Senior Editor of the new journal is Tanja Domenko, D.V.M., Ph.D.
(Oregon Regional Primate Research Center). "It is essential to cover the
further advancement of nuclear transfer technology and to consolidate
basic science with possible applications not just in animal science but
also in human medicine," she said today.
 For further information and to interview the editors of Cloning: Science
and Policy, please call Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 914-934-3100, ext. 623.

CLONING: A FLOCK OF MICE?
July 23/98
Nature VOL.394, No.6691 (pp369-374, N&V)
Dolly the cloned sheep is no longer alone. On p369, Ryuzo Yanagimachi of
the University of Hawaii, Honolulu in the United States and an
international team from the US, Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom report
the birth of no fewer than 22 healthy and fertile female mice which have
been cloned from nuclei of adult ovarian cumulus cells using a similar
technique to that used to produce Dolly. In particular Yamanigachi and
colleagues used donor cell nuclei that were in the 'quiescent' G0 stage of
the cell division cycle, which seems to have been one of the crucial
factors contributing to the success of Dolly. The cloned mice derived from
nuclei from cumulus cells, ovarian cells that surround the egg and are
shed with it on ovulation, and the first-born of these mice has been named
Cumulina. They also tried nuclei from nerve cells and Sertoli cells from
the testis, which are also permanently in the G0 stage. But only the
cumulus cell nuclei were successful.
The previous repeated failures to clone mice by nuclear transplantation
had led some to think that the task was simply a biological impossibility.
But Yanagimachi's mice seem perfectly normal and have produced offspring
of their own after mating. The success rate is still low, however, ranging
from 1 in 40 to 1 in 80 survivors for every embryo implanted in different
experiments.
Successful cloning of mice opens up a better prospect of determining the
technical and biological factors that contribute to successful cloning.
Developmental biologists will also be able to address the crucial question
of how the donor nucleus from a specialized cell becomes reprogrammed by
the egg cytoplasm to enable it once again to give rise to all the
different cell types in the animal body.
Davor Solter at the Max-Planck Institute fur Immunobiologie, Freiburg,
Germany, discusses the work along with the latest news on Dolly, in an
accompanying News and Views article.

CLONING: DOLLY'S DNA PROFILE
July 23/98
Nature VOL.394, No.6691  (pp329-330, p330)
Dolly the sheep hit the headlines last year as the first animal to be
cloned from an adult cell. She was produced by transferring the nuclear
material from a mammary cell taken from an adult ewe into an enucleated
egg cell. But since the initial reports there have been concerns about
Dolly's authenticity. The donor ewe was pregnant at the time the mammary
tissue was taken, so, according to some, it is possible that Dolly could
have been the product of a fetal cell after all. The first attempts to
produce a DNA profile of Dolly suggested that she was indeed an adult
clone, but the tests were not detailed enough to remove all doubt.
Two reports in this week's scientific correspondence pages, one by Ian
Wilmut of the Roslin Institute in Midlothian, UK, and colleagues, who
originally produced Dolly (p329), and the other by Esther Signer of the
University of Leicester, UK, and colleagues (p330), now provide
independent DNA profiles that confirm Dolly was indeed a clone of the
6-year-old donor ewe.
Davor Solter at the Max-Planck Institute fr Immunobiologie, Freiburg,
Germany, discusses the work along with the work by Yanagimachi and
colleagues, in an accompanying News and Views article.

NEWS OF CLONED MICE REPRESENTS KEY STEP IN REALISING COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL
OF NUCLEAR TRANSFER TECHNOLOGY
July 21/98
(from a press release)
LONDON -- Roslin Institute today welcomed the publication in today's
Nature of news of the cloning of the first mice from adult cells. The
publication, by Dr Yanagimachi from the University of Hawaii and
colleagues, describes the production of mice by nuclear transfer from
cells from the ovaries of adult mice.
Dr Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute said, "These are exciting results.
They suggest that it will be possible to produce adult clones from a range
of different cell types and species.
Dr Harry Griffin, Assistant Director of Roslin Institute added, "The
results will further encourage the commercial development of cloning
technology. Roslin Institute has already concluded licenses to Roslin
Bio-Med and PPL Therapeutics for the use of its nuclear transfer
technology for biomedical applications. The evidence published today from
Dr Yanagimachi and his colleagues will provide further encouragement for
applications in farm animal production and in human cell therapy, where
the ability to clone from adult cells is particularly important."
Dr Wilmut went on to say, "Research in mice is much less expensive than in
large animals such as sheep and cattle and the work published today will
encourage many laboratoriesincluding our ownto use mice in studies to
understand the basic mechanisms involved in the 'reprogramming' of adult
cells. Studies on mice will also facilitate the use of nuclear transfer
for studying mechanisms involved in ageing and in cancer."

ROSLIN INSTITUTE: DOLLY THE SHEEP'S PROVENANCE UPHELD; GENETIC
FINGERPRINTING PROVES HER ORIGINS
July 21/98
>From a press release
LONDON -- The following was released today by the Roslin Institute:
Independent tests have conclusively proved Dolly the sheep is derived from
the nucleus of a cell from the mammary gland of an adult donor.
Correspondence published today in the leading scientific journal Nature
details independent work carried out by the Department of Genetics at the
University of Leicester which verifies Dolly's origins and confirms the
work published by the Roslin Institute and PPL Therapeutics in Nature
(27.2.97)1. The same issue of Nature also contains details of further DNA
microsatellite analysis carried out by specialist genotyping company,
Rosgen on behalf of Dolly's creators Roslin Institute and PPL
Therapeutics. This second study provides additional confirmation that
Dolly was derived from an adult cell.
Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, well known inventor of the DNA fingerprinting
technique and his team at Leicester carried out the fingerprinting
procedures. Mammary tissue from the original 6-year old donor ewe, cells
derived from the tissue and a blood sample from Dolly were all compared.
The DNA fingerprints of mammary tissue, cells and Dolly were identical in
band number, position and relative intensity. Tissue and cells from the
6-year old ewe had been stored frozen at the Hannah Research Institute
ever since their removal and the correspondence also includes details from
Dr Colin Wilde and his colleagues at the Hannah that confirm that both
tissue and cells used to make Dolly were from the mammary gland of a
pregnant ewe.
The independent tests were carried out after scientists had suggested that
Dolly could have been mistakenly derived from contaminating embryo cells
or from a foetal cell present in the bloodstream of the pregnant ewe
rather than from an adult cell.
The correspondence describing Rosgen's analysis reports that the alleles
present in Dolly's DNA were identical to those in the original mammary
tissue and also concludes that Dolly was derived from an adult mammary
cell of a Finn Dorset ewe. Professor Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute
said, "Whilst we have always been certain that Dolly was derived from a
mammary gland cell from an adult ewe, we are very pleased her origin has
now been validated by a wholly independent and highly eminent source."
Dr Alan Colman, research director of PPL Therapeutics added, "We hope that
this authentication of the Dolly work will now put an end to the doubts
expressed by some people over the last few months. Dolly may be a rare
event, but she is certainly not an 'anecdote'. Since Dolly, the Roslin
Institute and PPL have continued nuclear transfer work using foetal cells
and we have successfully demonstrated its commercial benefits with the
birth of Polly and other transgenic lambs, and a bull calf, Mr Jefferson.
These additional cloned animals show that the technology is now
well-proven and established."

UK'S PPL THERAPEUTIC IN NEW CLONING DEAL
July 22/98
Reuters
LONDON -- British biotechnology company PPL Therapeutics Plc was cited as
saying today that  it has reached an agreement with ProBio America Inc to
use its proprietary cloning technology for research into cloning pigs and
other
animals, adding that it will be part of an international consortium
which will be licensed by ProBio to use the Honolulu Cloning Technique for
research into animal cloning.
PPL's managing director Ron James was qutoed as saying, "If this
collaborative research to adapt the mouse to cloning techniques
to pigs is successful, we expect it to lead to commercial right in the
xenograft (transplant from one species to another) and, possibly other
areas."
The Honolulu Cloning Technique was developed by Dr Ryuzo Yanagimachi of
the University of Hawaii and an international team of scientists from the
United States, Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom.

BOVINE TB MAY HAVE SPREAD SOUTH IN MICHIGAN
July 22/98
UPI
JACKSON, Mich. -- State officials were cited as saying today that tests on
a Jackson County farm found one cow is a "suspect" for bovine
tuberculosis, a lung disease among white-tailed deer that officials are
trying to keep from
infecting livestock and ruining the state's cattle industry. So far this
year one cow in northern Michigan has been confirmed as infected.

GENETIC DIVERSITY NEEDS PROTECTION
July 23/98
Western Producer
Garry Fairbairn
Two years ago, according to this editorial, a network of some 600
scientists around the world conducted an ambitious survey of animal life.
They looked at 9,615 bird species, 4,355 mammal species, 1,277 reptile
species, 497
amphibian species, 2,158 fish species.
The results, as reviewed and analyzed in a recent Worldwatch
Institute study, found that almost one in five of the
surveyed species are in danger of extinction.
Researcher John Tuxill, author of the study, was quoted as saying, "We are
in the midst of a mass extinction, an event not seen since
the disappearance of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago."
He adds that habitat destruction, through actions like forest-clearing and
roadbuilding, is the primary threat to most of the endangered land
species.  Overfishing threatens not only the target fish, but
other marine life that gets swept up in the nets.
 Pollution, including agricultural runoff, affects both land and water
creatures.
 Demand for animal parts for aphrodisiacs or natural medicines has led to
excessive hunting of tigers and other animals, while the
continuing quest for ivory still threatens elephants.
The story adds that agriculture is a part of the problem, but it can also
contribute to solutions. Tuxill cites one British study that found only
seven
skylarks after harvest in a field that had been conventionally
seeded. Another field seeded with no-till equipment had 157
skylarks, and more than 200 other birds.
The editorial concludes that the world's farmers could play important
roles, but society needs to support them in doing so. Fair
compensation for crop damage, or for land left idle for the benefit
of wildlife, should not be a problem for a global society committed
to maintaining biodiversity.

USING DNA TO DISABLE DISEASES: LOEB INSTITUTE RESEARCHERS
ARE DEVELOPING PROTECTION AGAINST DISEASES FOR FARM-BRED
FISH
July 22/98
The Ottawa Citizen
H3
Pauline Tam
Joel Heppell, part of a research team at Ottawa's Loeb Research
Institute that is, according to this story, developing the world's first
fish vaccine made from DNA, was quoted as saying that ``Right now, most of
the fish raised on fish farms die from the diseases for which there are no
vaccines. Fish farmers can lose a lot of money from high fish mortality
rates.''
The technology has found its way to Cobequid Life Sciences Inc., a
Richmond Hill-based company focusing on the development of DNA
vaccines, which is financing the multi-million dollar effort to
bring DNA vaccines for fish to market. Recently, Cobequid received
$350,000 from the National Research Council's Industrial Research
Assistance Program to help fund the costs of commercializing the
fish vaccine. The company, which has a division that specializes
in vaccines for farm-raised fish, estimates the global market for
its products to be more than $100 million U.S. per year. Cobequid
believes DNA vaccines can control several types of viral diseases
that conventional, protein-based vaccines on the market today
cannot.

AT UMDNJ - ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL, LYME DISEASE VACCINE STUDY
PROVES SAFE AND 92 PERCENT EFFECTIVE IN ADULTS
July 22/98
(from a press release)
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- A new vaccine for Lyme disease has proven 92
percent effective in protecting adults against Lyme disease, reports a
researcher at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
(UMDNJ) who headed the nationwide study.
The results of the three-year, multi-center study are published in the
July 23 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. The report was
authored by Dr. Leonard H. Sigal, principal investigator of the study and
director of the Lyme Disease Center at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson
Medical School in New Brunswick.
The vaccine, called ImuLyme, was developed and is manufactured by Pasteur
Merieux Connaught of Swiftwater, Pa. The company is awaiting approval by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the vaccine, which may be
available later this year or in early 1999.
"The results of this study indicate that this vaccine is an effective
source of protection against Lyme disease," said Dr. Sigal, an associate
professor of medicine. "Especially in high-risk areas, the vaccine will
take its place along with personal precautions as a winning strategy in
the prevention of the disease."
ImuLyme is a pure protein that is genetically engineered from the
bacterial organism that causes Lyme disease. It stimulates the body's
immune responses against the Outer Surface Protein found in the bacteria
that causes the tick-borne illness. "The vaccine cannot trigger Lyme
disease," said Dr. Sigal. "It merely provides protection against the
bacteria responsible for the disease.
The study included 10,306 people over the age of 17 that began in 1994,
with neither physicians nor participants knowing which participants were
receiving the vaccine and which were given a placebo, an inactive,
harmless substance. The vaccine was tested in New Jersey, New York,
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin, where Lyme disease is most
common.
ImuLyme was administered in two injectives, one month apart. A third dose
was given, one year later to ensure the vaccine's effectiveness. Until
they received the third dose, the vaccine was only 67 percent effective in
preventing Lyme disease. Many of those vaccinated experienced redness,
swelling and soreness at the site of the injection, side effect similar to
any other intramuscular vaccine, said Dr. Sigal. The side effects
dissipated within 72 hours following the injection.
In those participants who received the three doses, the vaccine was 100
percent effective in all women and all men under age 60, but only 67
percent effective in men 60 years of age or older. "We do not know why the
vaccine was not as thoroughly effective in older men," said Dr. Sigal.
"This is an area we are currently studying."
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infection in the United States.
It is caused by a spirochete, a spiral-shaped bacterium called Borrelia
Burgdorferi, and is transmitted by the bite of an infected deer tick. Some
98,000 cases of Lyme disease have been reported to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention since 1992, including about 13,000 last year. The
typical features of Lyme disease are a distinctive rash (erythema
migrants), arthritis and viral-like symptoms. If left untreated, it can
lead to heart, nervous system and joint problems.

SASKATCHEWAN ELK DISEASE APPEARS TO BE WANING
July 23/98
Western Producer
Ed White
According to this story, Saskatchewan's farmed elk are free to move again
but mystery still surrounds the animal that caused the elk industry
lockdown when it died of chronic wasting disease.
George Luterbach, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency veterinarian who
oversaw the investigation, was quoted as saying, "It would have been nice
to show a direct link back." said.
Saskatchewan Elk Breeders' Association president Barry Haubrich was quoted
as saying, "She's like normal now."
Luterbach was cited as saying the most likely source of infection was
the animal's mother, whom had been imported from a part of South
Dakota where another sick elk had come from.
There is some evidence chronic wasting disease can be spread within
a herd, but Luterbach added that officials feel confident this animal has
not spread the disease.
The quarantine on the four farms that contained the infected animal
and its relatives has been lifted, but Luterbach said they will be
surveyed every six months to see if any animals show signs of
disease.

RESEARCHERS SEEK HELP
July 23/98
Western Producer
The Western Beef Development Centre is looking for cow-calf
producers to participate in a pasture to plate research program.
The centre, based in Saskatoon, wants to work with about 30
cow-calf producers across Western Canada to monitor information
from birth to slaughter over a three-year period. Researchers at
the centre plan to use the information to check health records,
breeding programs, performance and available carcass data.
Sonja Lemm, at the centre, said the information can be used to
develop breeding programs that focuses on carcass quality and
potentially increase profitability of herds.
Information will be returned to the producers committed to keeping
extensive records on individual animals. The bookkeeping includes
records on calves, cows, bulls, weaning data, feeding and packer
records. For more information contact Lemm at the Western Beef
Development Centre at 306-966-2627.

SASKATCHEWAN SIGNS ON TO BEEF LEVY FOR RESEARCH
July 23/98
Western Producer
D'Arce McMillan
A national beef check-off program to fund market development and
research is, according to this story, one step closer to reality now that
Saskatchewan has signed on. Beginning Aug. 1, a $1 per head deduction will
be collected at points of sale by auction markets, dealers and packing
plants and by inspectors when animals are exported.
This is in addition to the $1 provincial checkoff.
Neil Jahnke, chair of the Cattle Marketing Deductions Committee,
was cited as saying the money is vital to keep Canada's beef industry
competitive in the world market, adding, "When you think Australia is
collecting $6 or $7 a head and other countries too. Governments don't have
any money any more. So if the industry is going to survive and thrive, we
are sure going to have to do some work on the research and promotion side.
... Ontario, Alberta and B.C. have all agreed and Saskatchewan has now
agreed so we've got the big end of it."
Jim Caldwell, Canadian Cattlemen's Association director of
government affairs was cited as saying that negotiations continue with
Quebec and a deal looks possible, and that Manitoba needs to change its
check-off legislation because it now provides for a voluntary program that
allows producers to apply for refunds of the checkoff. And that
would cause problems with the CCA's plan to apply the checkoff to
imported cattle.
The story adds that the program is expected to raise close to $7 million a
year
nationally, of which about 19 percent will come from Saskatchewan, and
that the money will go into a stand-alone corporation managed by a
producer committee made up of representatives from the
provinces. It will be used to fund domestic beef promotion, export
market development and production research.

ANIMAL HEALTH: CAUSES OF LEAD POISONING
July 23/98
Western Producer
Jeff Grognet
Every year, according to columnist Grognet, hundreds of cattle die from
lead toxicity, and on the Prairies, it is the most common cause of
poisoning.
In an outbreak, just one calf may be affected or many cows may
succumb at the same time. Calves are at greater risk because they
are more inquisitive than older animals.
Most cases of lead poisoning occur, writes Grognet, because cattle eat
discarded
material containing lead such as batteries, crankcase oil, grease and used
oil filters. A single battery can kill as many as
20 calves. The incidence of lead poisoning has dropped since
lead-free paints and gasoline became available. But there are still
many sources. Discarded building materials, plumbing supplies,
linoleum, oil field waste and remnants of crop sprays all pose a
risk.
Grognet goes on to advise that if you find a source of lead in the pasture
it reinforces the tentative diagnosis. A blood test will confirm lead
poisoning.
Post mortems can determine if cattle have died from lead toxicity.

YOGURT CONTAINER REDESIGNED, BUT ANIMAL ADVOCATES TURN UP THEIR NOSES
July 22/98
The Los Angeles Times
SUSAN ABRAM
First there was dolphin-safe. Now, courtesy of General Mills, we have
skunk-safe.
It may not carry the same emotional cachet of the dolphins imperiled by
tuna nets, but foraging skunks who poke their noses into discarded Yoplait
yogurt containers have been dying at a small but noticeable rate for
years, animal rights activists say. In an effort to prevent more deaths,
which activists estimate to be about 100 nationwide each year, the maker
of the No. 2 yogurt brand has modified the tapered Yoplait container to
make it animal-safewell, at least animal-safer, and added a warning label
to
the bottom: "Protect wildlife; crush before disposal."
Jack Sheehan, a spokesman for Minneapolis-based General Mills was quoted
as saying, "The redesign is somewhat friendlier to small animals," but it
is up to consumers to crush the containers before throwing them away. "The
[design] changes were already in progress," even before General Mills
was contacted by the Animal Protection Institute, a Sacramento-based group
concerned about the skunks' predicament, he said. Still, Sheehan said the
company wanted consumers to know it was concerned. "
But the animal rights activists believe the changes stink. The
bushy-tailed, black-and-white creatures are still at risk because the
modification to the yogurt containers is too slight, said Camilla Fox,
spokeswoman for the Animal Protection Institute. The container's rim
curves inward and traps the animal when it sticks its nose and head
inside. (General Mills said it curved back the top lip a few millimeters.)

PIC RESTRUCTURES BOARD TO FOCUS ON AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY FORMER
PIONEER HI BRED INTERNATIONAL, INC., CHAIRMAN JOINS BOARD
July 22/98
(from a press release)
NEW YORK -- PIC International Group PLC (London: PII), the world's leading
provider of genetically improved pigs used for breeding, has announced
changes to its Board of Directors in order to reflect the company's focus
on agricultural biotechnology. In connection with this restructuring,
Phillip J. David was named Chief Executive Officer, effective September
30.
PIC International emerged from a recent restructuring in which the
U.K.-based Dalgety disposed of four food and agricultural businesses for
1.25 billion pounds and returned 675 million pounds to shareholders.
Dalgety recently changed its name to PIC International Group.
Tom Urban, former Chairman of Pioneer Hi Bred International, Inc., has
been appointed to the Board of Directors, effective October 1. "In his
nearly 40 years of experience with Pioneer, Tom led the company to become
one of the leading agricultural research and seed genetic companies in the
world. His expertise and knowledge will be of tremendous value as we
continue to expand our genetic improvement business," said Mr. David.
Gregg BeVier, President of PIC Americas, will join the PIC International
Group Board on October 1. Mr. BeVier joined PIC Americas in 1983 and has
extensive experience in the pig improvement sector of the agricultural
biotechnology industry.
Brian Baldock, will become non-executive chairman of the Board. Mr.
Baldock has been a non-executive director of PIC for six years and is also
a director of Marks & Spencer PLC and Cornhill Insurance PLC.
Concurrent with these appointments, PIC announced that it will relocate
its headquarters and research center to Berkeley, California, from the
U.K. in order to attract leading biotechnology scientists. PIC intends to
seek a U.S. stock market listing, in addition to the current London
listing.
Andrew Allner, PIC group finance director, will relocate to California
later this year. Prior to joining Dalgety as group finance director in
1998, Mr. Allner was finance director of Nycomed-Amersham plc, a
biotechnology, imaging and pharmaceutical group.
"PIC is particularly well positioned as the industry leader in the field
of genetically improved pigs and we will continue our geographic expansion
into emerging growth markets, particularly in the Far East," said Mr.
David. "The relocation of the company to the San Francisco area provides
us with access to the best research talent in the field, as well as an
enhanced ability to develop attractive long-term markets."

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